Bartlett builds on success,
downs Waubonsie Valley
Hawks hunt big game in Best of the West tourney
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Bartlett was not on anyone’s list of teams considered worthy of ranking before the season began.
That was understandable, considering the Hawks went 6-14 in 2014.
But it didn’t sit well with Bartlett’s players or the team’s new coach, Vince DiNuzzo.
So what did they do?
Well, Tuesday they upset host Naperville Central 2-1 on the opening night of the prestigious Best of the West Tournament.
On Thursday, the Hawks followed that by beating Waubonsie Valley 1-0 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
“We saw that we weren’t ranked in the top 50, and that really pissed us off,” Bartlett senior Tim Riordan said. “We know we can beat any team in this league, and I think we showed it against Naperville Central on Tuesday.
“They were No. 7, and we weren’t impressed by that. We know we can beat a higher team than that.”
Now the Hawks (2-1) are just one win away from advancing to Saturday night’s championship game. If they can knock off Sandburg on Saturday morning, they will play in their first tournament championship match since the St. Charles North Invite in 2006, when DiNuzzo was in the lineup.
“It’s not surprising to me,” DiNuzzo said. “It’s not surprising to my boys. We know what we have.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had success. It means a lot to these boys, but we’ve still got two more games to play in this tournament and we’ve got conference games coming up so we’ve got to get it together before then.”
That DiNuzzo was not satisfied with Bartlett’s overall play on Thursday is an indication of the high expectations he has for the Hawks, who dominated Waubonsie Valley (0-2-1) but failed to take advantage of a series of wide-open scoring chances.
“We’ve got to play better than what we’ve just played,” DiNuzzo said. “That wasn’t good enough.
“We’ve been stressing since St. Charles North, our first game of the season, taking advantage of our opportunities. Again today we didn’t do so. I counted six 1 v. 1 with the goalies and only one goal.”
A.J. Santori couldn’t cash in on two such plays, sending a couple of bullets wide of the post, and Riordan was stopped on a breakaway by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Les Kruchten.
But Riordan, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, did score the only goal of the game on a partial breakaway up the left wing with 22:05 remaining in the first half. Fellow midfielder Oliver Saile had the assist on the goal, Riordan’s third in as many games.
“He played it in through the middle from the 30-yard line,” Riordan said. “I beat (the defender) with my speed along the wing, and I got lucky and chipped it past the goalie.”
The Hawks played an entertaining style, consistently getting past the Warriors’ defense on the outside and creating scoring chances. Kruchten did well to keep his team in the game, coming up with five saves.
“We do it with our speed,” Riordan said. “We get it to our midfielders and play it to our wings, and we beat teams along the wings.
“I’m one of the seniors that have been on this team for three years now. I know I need to step up, and I think for the last three games I’ve been stepping up and taking our team on a scoring streak.”
But the main reason the Hawks won this game was their defense. The backline of seniors Josh Merkel, Brian Recinos, Steven Wenzlaff and Joey Mirsky clogged up the penalty area and allowed only seven shots, most of which were from distance.
“I’m happy with the result,” DiNuzzo said. “I was impressed with our back four organizing themselves. They did a much better job today.”
He wasn’t the only one who was impressed.
“They played extremely well and that’s a credit to them for keeping us away from the goal,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “We saw a little bit of how they played on Tuesday.
“We knew what we were going (to be) in for, but they got an early goal, and it’s hard to come back when they’re parking the bus. It’s hard to get through that defense when you have that many in the back.”
The Warriors did have a few good chances. Leo Mendoza had the first, an open shot from the 6-yard line, but fired wide.
The senior forward put a wicked 30-yard shot on frame with 13 minutes to go in the second half, but Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein sprawled to his left to thwart the dipping drive.
Hasenstein finished with four saves and also punched a couple of other balls out of danger.
“I would have wished we had a little bit more chances,” Garcia said. “I think we only had maybe three or four shots on goal, and if you don’t take shots you’re not going to score any goals. That’s something that we really need to focus on at the next practice.”
DiNuzzo said Hasenstein has improved since a season-opening 2-1 loss to St. Charles North, while Riordan pegs Merkel as the linchpin of the defensive effort.
“He’s our eyes and ears back there,” Riordan said. “He’s got the loudest mouth on the field, and he tells everyone what to do and when to do it. He’s a key point for our team.”
While it remains to be seen whether this week’s action is the start of something big for Bartlett, the Hawks feel a sense of urgency.
“This year is definitely our best chance of going far,” Riordan said. “It is our senior year, and it means a lot to us, especially this tournament. It’s the Best of the West; it’s one of the best in Illinois.”
Waubonsie Valley has no chance of reaching the final. And the Hawks will be rooting for the Warriors to beat Naperville Central on Saturday morning because that would clinch Bartlett’s place in the title game.
It won’t be an easy task for a team still trying to figure out what it has. Naperville Central hammered Sandburg 4-0 in the other group match on Thursday.
“We’re still trying to figure out the formation,” Garcia said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things right now is just trying to figure out where these players are more comfortable playing and seeing where they can really help us out.’
There is no question that Mendoza, a senior forward, will be counted on heavily to produce.
“He’s definitely one of those players who are very dynamic,” Garcia said. “We expect a lot from him, and we’re hoping in the next couple of games that he does that.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
G Jake Hasenstein
D Josh Merkel
D Joey Mirsky
D Bryan Recinos
D Steven Wenzlaff
M Tim Riordan
M Oliver Saile
M Alexis Contreras
M Ryan Stratton
F A.J. Santori
F T.J. Ivkovich
Waubonsie Valley
G Les Kruchten
D Cody Schroder
D Rogelio Grimaldo
D Brett Babcock
D Charles Zehnal
M Noah Michael
M Ryan Dittmer
M Giacomo Parrino
M Mitch Mueller
F LeoMendoza
F Eric Saucedo
Man of the Match: Tim Riordan, MF, Bartlett
downs Waubonsie Valley
Hawks hunt big game in Best of the West tourney
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Bartlett was not on anyone’s list of teams considered worthy of ranking before the season began.
That was understandable, considering the Hawks went 6-14 in 2014.
But it didn’t sit well with Bartlett’s players or the team’s new coach, Vince DiNuzzo.
So what did they do?
Well, Tuesday they upset host Naperville Central 2-1 on the opening night of the prestigious Best of the West Tournament.
On Thursday, the Hawks followed that by beating Waubonsie Valley 1-0 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
“We saw that we weren’t ranked in the top 50, and that really pissed us off,” Bartlett senior Tim Riordan said. “We know we can beat any team in this league, and I think we showed it against Naperville Central on Tuesday.
“They were No. 7, and we weren’t impressed by that. We know we can beat a higher team than that.”
Now the Hawks (2-1) are just one win away from advancing to Saturday night’s championship game. If they can knock off Sandburg on Saturday morning, they will play in their first tournament championship match since the St. Charles North Invite in 2006, when DiNuzzo was in the lineup.
“It’s not surprising to me,” DiNuzzo said. “It’s not surprising to my boys. We know what we have.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had success. It means a lot to these boys, but we’ve still got two more games to play in this tournament and we’ve got conference games coming up so we’ve got to get it together before then.”
That DiNuzzo was not satisfied with Bartlett’s overall play on Thursday is an indication of the high expectations he has for the Hawks, who dominated Waubonsie Valley (0-2-1) but failed to take advantage of a series of wide-open scoring chances.
“We’ve got to play better than what we’ve just played,” DiNuzzo said. “That wasn’t good enough.
“We’ve been stressing since St. Charles North, our first game of the season, taking advantage of our opportunities. Again today we didn’t do so. I counted six 1 v. 1 with the goalies and only one goal.”
A.J. Santori couldn’t cash in on two such plays, sending a couple of bullets wide of the post, and Riordan was stopped on a breakaway by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Les Kruchten.
But Riordan, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, did score the only goal of the game on a partial breakaway up the left wing with 22:05 remaining in the first half. Fellow midfielder Oliver Saile had the assist on the goal, Riordan’s third in as many games.
“He played it in through the middle from the 30-yard line,” Riordan said. “I beat (the defender) with my speed along the wing, and I got lucky and chipped it past the goalie.”
The Hawks played an entertaining style, consistently getting past the Warriors’ defense on the outside and creating scoring chances. Kruchten did well to keep his team in the game, coming up with five saves.
“We do it with our speed,” Riordan said. “We get it to our midfielders and play it to our wings, and we beat teams along the wings.
“I’m one of the seniors that have been on this team for three years now. I know I need to step up, and I think for the last three games I’ve been stepping up and taking our team on a scoring streak.”
But the main reason the Hawks won this game was their defense. The backline of seniors Josh Merkel, Brian Recinos, Steven Wenzlaff and Joey Mirsky clogged up the penalty area and allowed only seven shots, most of which were from distance.
“I’m happy with the result,” DiNuzzo said. “I was impressed with our back four organizing themselves. They did a much better job today.”
He wasn’t the only one who was impressed.
“They played extremely well and that’s a credit to them for keeping us away from the goal,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “We saw a little bit of how they played on Tuesday.
“We knew what we were going (to be) in for, but they got an early goal, and it’s hard to come back when they’re parking the bus. It’s hard to get through that defense when you have that many in the back.”
The Warriors did have a few good chances. Leo Mendoza had the first, an open shot from the 6-yard line, but fired wide.
The senior forward put a wicked 30-yard shot on frame with 13 minutes to go in the second half, but Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein sprawled to his left to thwart the dipping drive.
Hasenstein finished with four saves and also punched a couple of other balls out of danger.
“I would have wished we had a little bit more chances,” Garcia said. “I think we only had maybe three or four shots on goal, and if you don’t take shots you’re not going to score any goals. That’s something that we really need to focus on at the next practice.”
DiNuzzo said Hasenstein has improved since a season-opening 2-1 loss to St. Charles North, while Riordan pegs Merkel as the linchpin of the defensive effort.
“He’s our eyes and ears back there,” Riordan said. “He’s got the loudest mouth on the field, and he tells everyone what to do and when to do it. He’s a key point for our team.”
While it remains to be seen whether this week’s action is the start of something big for Bartlett, the Hawks feel a sense of urgency.
“This year is definitely our best chance of going far,” Riordan said. “It is our senior year, and it means a lot to us, especially this tournament. It’s the Best of the West; it’s one of the best in Illinois.”
Waubonsie Valley has no chance of reaching the final. And the Hawks will be rooting for the Warriors to beat Naperville Central on Saturday morning because that would clinch Bartlett’s place in the title game.
It won’t be an easy task for a team still trying to figure out what it has. Naperville Central hammered Sandburg 4-0 in the other group match on Thursday.
“We’re still trying to figure out the formation,” Garcia said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things right now is just trying to figure out where these players are more comfortable playing and seeing where they can really help us out.’
There is no question that Mendoza, a senior forward, will be counted on heavily to produce.
“He’s definitely one of those players who are very dynamic,” Garcia said. “We expect a lot from him, and we’re hoping in the next couple of games that he does that.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
G Jake Hasenstein
D Josh Merkel
D Joey Mirsky
D Bryan Recinos
D Steven Wenzlaff
M Tim Riordan
M Oliver Saile
M Alexis Contreras
M Ryan Stratton
F A.J. Santori
F T.J. Ivkovich
Waubonsie Valley
G Les Kruchten
D Cody Schroder
D Rogelio Grimaldo
D Brett Babcock
D Charles Zehnal
M Noah Michael
M Ryan Dittmer
M Giacomo Parrino
M Mitch Mueller
F LeoMendoza
F Eric Saucedo
Man of the Match: Tim Riordan, MF, Bartlett