Man, has time flown since Batavia senior soccer player Mary Wandolowski burst onto the scene as a freshman.
She scored goals at a dizzying pace, 34 in her first two varsity seasons. In one of the first games of her career, she scored the only goal in a stunning, 1-0 win over rival Geneva.
"My freshman year was probably the best year I'll ever have," Wandolowski admitted.
A torn anterior cruciate ligament robbed her of her entire sophomore season, but she led the Bulldogs to a berth in the regional finals against, you guessed it, Geneva after returning for her junior season.
And this season, she has helped Batavia earn a share of the Western Sun Conference title. But it is all coming to an end for one of the most decorated soccer players in Batavia history. The Bulldogs, the No. 6 seed in the Class AA Waubonsie Valley Sectional, opens postseason play Wednesday against Kaneland, whom they beat, 5-0, earlier this week.
A probable date with the regional host, third-seeded Neuqua Valley, would stand between Batavia and its first regional title since 2002.
"Now that we've got conference, I want to get a regional, really bad, and I think we can do it," Wandolowski said.
That would be the capper to a great career that has helped her earn a partial scholarship to continue playing soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee along side another former Batavia star, Sarah Teegarden, in the fall. Teegarden will be entering her senior season for the Panthers.
"I think she's a lot like Sarah," Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. "They're carbon copies of each other and it will be great to see them together."
While acknowledging the talent level of players like Teegarden and Wandolowski, McAlpin is even happier with how his star players through the years have handled themselves around their teammates and the school.
"Not everybody has those skills," McAlpin said. "When you have people like that, you kind of give them the lead and let them do it. The best thing I can do is stay away and let her do what she needs to do. That's the greatest compliment that I could pay her. We've been very fortunate here to have a number of girls like her, but she's certainly up there with the best we've had."
Wandolowski showed her leadership after the Bulldogs lost their season opener to Wheaton Warrenville South this season. With plenty of time to consider how to improve the team thanks to some well-placed weather postponements, Wandolowski decided to step back from her forward position and man the midfield, helping distribute to her teammates.
She said that her offensive success her first two seasons was due mostly to strong play in the midfield, getting her the ball in great positions to score. With her college commitment already in tow, Wandolowski wanted to do the same for her current teammates.
"I guess I give an energy to the other girls and let them know that I'm there and they can work through me," Wandolowski said. "I like it."
All that's left to achieve is a deep playoff run. After the way she came on four years ago, what else could you expect?
Paul Johnson is a Beacon News columnist.
Commentary: Paul Johnson
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