Oswego East and Batavia settle for a draw

BATAVIA – Oswego East used a high-powered offense to overwhelm many opponents over the past few years.

But after graduation nearly all of their best attackers, the Wolves are having to do things differently this season.

“Because we’re a relatively new team, a lot of us haven’t played with each other in a while,” Oswego East junior midfielder Catie Sloan said. “So I definitely think we’ll be able to capitalize on some of those opportunities.”

The Wolves weren’t able to cash in on the few scoring chances they were able to muster against host Batavia on Saturday, but they played well enough to remain unbeaten thanks to an uneventful 0-0 tie.

Oswego East (1-0-2) held a 5-4 edge in shots against the defensive-minded Bulldogs (2-2-1) and had the better of the possession in a game played mostly between the 20-yard lines.

“I think we learned a lot about our strengths today,” Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. “We played a really good opponent.

“Batavia came out and they were strong. Even going into the wind, they scared the crap out of us a couple times. We played well defensively when we needed to.”

Which wasn’t often until late in the game. Oswego East freshman goalkeeper Cat Karmik had to make only one save as the back line of Rachel Kangas, Morgan Wulk, Abby Widmer and Olivia Hamilton did a good job of sealing off the passing lanes.

But the same was true at the other end, where Batavia defenders Elizabeth Rio, Riley Bainter, Hannah Hickman, Anna Grometer and Leah Zimberoff stood tall in front of goalkeeper Gianna Reid, who made three saves.

Sloan had the best of the few chances for the Wolves. She had a 30-yard shot in the first half and a 25-yard free kick in the second half denied by Reid.

“I thought we had a lot of opportunities, especially going from out wide back in,” Sloan said. “I think we did really well on that.

“It’s just that last pass. If we spend a little bit of time working on it, we’ll be able to crack it and get some in.”

Leal thinks the offensive will come in time.

“I think we can learn from today,” Leal said. “We’re heading in the right direction, for sure.”

Defense figures to be Batavia’s forte, especially with the return of seniors Bainter and Hickman, who both missed last season with injuries. Hickman, an Eastern Illinois recruit, has returned from Lisfranc surgery, while Bainter is coming off ACL surgery.

“I think we definitely could have done better,” Bainter said. “We’re going to come out even harder next week.”