-- — The Batesville Bulldogs traveled to St. Leon to battle the undefeated East Central Trojans on Tuesday.

The two Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference soccer rivals battled to a 3-2 decision with the host Trojans ending up on top.

The first 27 minutes were scoreless with the Trojans maintaining much of the possession, according to BHS coach Chris Fox.

With just over 10 minutes left in the half,  the Trojans put a loose ball past the Batesville defense to get the first score of the match. 

East Central kept the pressure on and seven minutes later quickly countered off a turnover in the midfield.  A quick pass forward and good finish led to a two goal lead. 

The Trojans added a third goal within the first two minutes of the second half to extend the advantage to 3-0.

Despite the large deficit, the Bulldogs did not give up.

With 12 minutes to go in the game, Elliot Prickel made a run out of the back and crossed a ball into the box that Michael Ficarra headed into the goal to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard and cut the margin to 3-1.

  Luis Davalos made the game close when he was able to gather up a loose ball in the box for a score and trim the difference to one goal.

 The Bulldogs scrambled over the last three minutes to get a game-tieing goal, but the East Central defense held up.

 "Overall, we did not play well defensively or offensively,” Fox commented. “Give EC credit they are always a tough, quick team and definitely out played us tonight.

“However, I know we are a better team than we showed on the field ... I was disappointed with our technique and tactical mistakes, but I was pleased with our effort and never give up attitude," he added.

The varsity Bulldogs are 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Junior varsity blanks Trojans

The Batesville junior varsity boys team posted a 3-0 victory over the Trojans.

Matt Weiler scored the lone goal in the first half to put BHS in the lead. Ficarra scored a pair of second half goals to extend the margin to three.

Seth Parker led a solid defensive effort with four saves in goal over the 70 minutes.

“We came out a little flat in the first half, but steadily improved throughout the game,” coach Josh Meyer commented.

The junior varsity improved to 2-0.