Erin Doucette sets school record for goals in a season as Kaneland, Batavia settle for tie

MAPLE PARK — Erin Doucette didn’t think she had broken Kaneland’s school record for goals in a season initially.

Despite her shot finding the back of the net in the 67th minute to give the Knights a 2-1 lead over Batavia, she was unsure if it would count to her season total due to her shot bouncing off of a Bulldogs defender before going into the goal.

Yet after the game, Knights coach Scott Parillo delivered the news that the goal had been given to her, marking her 34th score of the season to break the school record.

“We were pushing really hard to get a goal and I got a good pass from Sophia (Rosati), and somehow it went in,” Doucette said. “But I was just so excited afterwards, especially since I didn’t know I got it. Hopefully we can keep it moving forward.”

Doucette’s goal wouldn’t be enough for the win, as Bulldogs junior Emma Wecker tied the game up just four minutes later on a lofted shot over a scrum of Knights defenders to force a 2-2 tie.

“I was hanging off from the back of the rest of the crowd so that when the ball bounced out, I was there,” Wecker said. “So I just took the shot. Everyone was out from the goal, so I just wanted to sneak a shot behind them.”

Batavia (7-7-2) set the pace of the contest early, with Wecker finding senior Reece Recker in the box on a cross to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 just two minutes into the game.

That aggressiveness would be persistent throughout the game, with the Bulldogs finishing the game out-shooting the Knights 9-3.

“That was our big objective from the get-go to score in the first 10 minutes,” Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “And that’s what we wanted to do when we created those chances early. We waned off a little bit. But after they tied it, we had a lot of opportunities afterwards. We just need to keep improving in that area moving forward.”

Gianfrancesco said he was happy with the team’s resiliency throughout the contest, especially after each of Kaneland’s goals.

“We had a lot of focus on our team to keep on some people and keep pushing forward, and that was the key,” Gianfrancesco said. “Most teams would just put their heads down after that own goal, but we didn’t do that. We’ve been great at keeping our composure all year and keep going to create those chances.”

The Knights’ (16-5-2) only other scoring opportunity came in the 21st minute. After sophomore Olivia Davis drew a foul inside the penalty box, senior Hannah Boyer slotted a penalty kick into the top-left corner of the goal to tie the game at 1-1.

“We only had a couple of shots and still managed two goals? I’ll take it,” Parillo said. “We were fortunate to get the result that we got.”

The Knights finish the regular season with a 9-0-1 record at home. And after playing nine games over a two-week span, Parillo said that his team had earned a well-deserved rest before heading into postseason play.

“We’re happy with this, but we’re tired and it showed in this game,” Parillo said. “Batavia is a really good team, and I think we’re continuing to improve and grow. But it was a great effort from our girls for as tired as we were to come out with a tie.”