Fast start delivers breakthrough performance for Bartlett
Hawks score twice in 1st 7 minutes in 3-1 U8 win over Fenton
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BENSENVILLE — Edgar Leon could feel something different about this game.
The senior midfielder from Bartlett saw a changed attitude among his teammates, a quickness to their step, a quality typically attached to confidence and freedom.
“It’s always a big deal when we start off the game,” Leon said. “We always want to come out with high intensity, get our positions, put them on their heels and catch them off guard.
“Luckily we ended up doing that.”
Bartlett had an almost palpable hunger to capture a different result. Leon expressed it best:
“What is it, like four weeks into the season, and we have been hungry for a win,” he said.
Sophomore forward Patryk Pabian and Leon scored two goals a minute apart during an early offensive assault that sparked the Hawks’ 3-1 victory over Fenton in Upstate Eight Conference at Redmond Park on Saturday afternoon.
Bartlett captured its first win of the season.
The Hawks (1-4-1, 1-2-1) took advantage of the gusting winds at the start. The team showed a combination new to this year -- playing energetically, though loose, as a team.
They found the early connections.
In the sixth minute, midfielder Cesar Palomares found a seam and slotted a ball that Pabian finished with a quick and sharp touch.
The goal was not just an early shift in momentum. It marked a far more satisfying conclusion.
“I think we were unlucky with a couple of our games, but we were definitely hungry for a win,” Pabian said. “I think we came out and played really well and finally finished our chances, which is something we hadn’t been doing.
“We were not really finishing our chances.”
For his accomplishments, Patryk Pabian earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
Perhaps most important, the Hawks did not allow the excitement of the moment to overwhelm them. Rather than resting on the moment, Bartlett ratcheted up the intensity and tempo.
With the wind at his back, Bartlett keeper Miguel Sarmiento lofted a ball deep into the Bison’s end.
Leon was the first to it.
“I got the touch on it, and I got it in the corner, and I went inside the far post,” Leon said, completing the rare keeper assisted scoring sequence.
This was a day the Hawks not only changed their fortune, but put all their pieces together. They also recognized a vulnerability in the Bisons’ back, and they seized control.
“I didn’t expect us to strike that early and also back to back like that,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said.
“We had some early momentum even before that. You could tell the kids loosened up massively after they put in that second goal. That allowed them to be more creative and break that tension of thinking: We can’t make any mistakes or the worst is going to happen to us.”
The 2-0 lead held into the halftime break.
Fenton coach Victor Ruiz lamented his team’s lost chances.
“This game was pretty much how our season has been going,” Ruiz said. “The first two goals came off of two mistakes.
“Our biggest problem has been our inability to finish in the final third. That’s what is hurting us. The kids stepped up a little bit more than the previous games. I’ve been telling them we could easily have been undefeated coming into this game. It’s a matter of how we put the ball in the net.”
Fenton was also a bit behind the eight ball with a substitute keeper. Anthony Aquino, a midfielder, tied the line for the Bison.
Bartlett’s precocious Pabian showed a highly versatile and skilled game. Ambidextrous and able to score with either foot, he created some superb chances off his corner kicks in the second half.
Midfielder Oliver Moral also flashed promise with his free kicks.
Pabian said the team was not about to let loose after the strong first half performance.
“I think we got a little bit more confident on the ball, but at the same time we got a little cocky in some places, I felt like,” he said. “I think we needed the mindset of the game was still tied 0-0, and we had to keep playing and lift the team up.”
Fenton (1-2-2, 1-1-2) showed greater urgency and command in the second half. Now playing with the wind, the Bison developed a more consistent shape and possessed the ball with far greater frequency.
“We had better transitions and better connections today,” Ruiz said. “That is one of the things we have been stressing. Our strength is ball movement, getting touches, and we were dominating parts of the game.
“When we get away from that is when we get into trouble.”
Bartlett expanded its lead in the 59th minute.
Defender Sebastian Gluszak, who had done an excellent job throughout of building out of the back, ripped through the Bison interior and played a terrific ball in space to senior midfielder Sebastian Estefania.
“I’ve been playing with Sebastian, the one who played me the through-ball, since freshman year, and we have a really good relationship on and off the field,” Estefania said.
“At halftime, our coach gave us the speech, saying in hockey, the most dangerous lead is 2-0, so we couldn’t get overconfident. We had to keep playing our game.”
Fenton averted the shutout in the 76th minute. Star midfielder Ivan Jaramillo caught the Hawks off balance and blasted a ball from about 26 yards for a very impressive goal.
“It was a high-intensity game over all,” Jaramillo said. “We had some good combinations here and there, but we couldn’t finish. We needed to play more options and create more chances.”
Fenton managed a few other decent opportunities in the closing moments. Sarmiento finished with six saves.
Chalk this game up to lessons learned.
“We had an earlier game against Elk Grove, we had a lead, and we blew it,” Estefania said. “It’s our sixth game and our first win, so we’re pretty happy. At the same time we’re a little disappointed in ourselves.
“We feel like we should have had a win a while ago.”
Revak hopes this game puts to rest the either/or dynamic to this year’s team.
“We’re a very binary team,” Revak said. “There are some games we show up for, like our Streamwood game and today. There are some games we just don’t. We’d like to blame the pandemic, injuries or other things, but as a team, we are still finding our feet together.”
The hardest part of losing is the mental toll. Revak said all things being equal, this team is learning how to cope and survive amid a season unlike any other.
“Our kids are just happy to get out there,” he said. “That’s the whole goal of this. Even if we were winless past today, these guys would still want to get out there and play.
“In the end, the results don’t matter right now. It’s this abbreviated season; it’s just good for these guys to get out there and play and get back the social aspects of their lives. It’s great for their attitudes and great for their lives.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK: Miguel Sarmiento
D: Trey Plunkett
D: Andrew Nava
D: Sebastian Gluszak
D: Joel Perez
MF: Cesar Palomares
MF: Kai Arias
MF: Brayam Fonseca
MF: Edgar Leon
F: Patryk Pabian
F: Sebastian Larios
Fenton
GK: Anthony Aquino
D: Oscar Mastache
D: David Cano
D: Alex Lamb
D: Kamil Markowski
MF: Alex Silva
MF: Joshua Rutkowski
MF: Christopher Hernandez
MF: Christian Bailon
MF: Ivan Jaramillo
F: Brandon Arias
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patryk Pabian, sophomore., F, Bartlett
Scoring summary
First half
Bartlett—Patryk Pabian (Cesar Palomares), sixth minute
Bartlett—Edgar Leon (Miguel Sarmiento), seventh minute
Second half
Bartlett—David Estefania (Sebastian Gluszak), 59th minute
Fenton—Ivan Jaramillo (Christian Bailon), 76th minute
Hawks score twice in 1st 7 minutes in 3-1 U8 win over Fenton
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BENSENVILLE — Edgar Leon could feel something different about this game.
The senior midfielder from Bartlett saw a changed attitude among his teammates, a quickness to their step, a quality typically attached to confidence and freedom.
“It’s always a big deal when we start off the game,” Leon said. “We always want to come out with high intensity, get our positions, put them on their heels and catch them off guard.
“Luckily we ended up doing that.”
Bartlett had an almost palpable hunger to capture a different result. Leon expressed it best:
“What is it, like four weeks into the season, and we have been hungry for a win,” he said.
Sophomore forward Patryk Pabian and Leon scored two goals a minute apart during an early offensive assault that sparked the Hawks’ 3-1 victory over Fenton in Upstate Eight Conference at Redmond Park on Saturday afternoon.
Bartlett captured its first win of the season.
The Hawks (1-4-1, 1-2-1) took advantage of the gusting winds at the start. The team showed a combination new to this year -- playing energetically, though loose, as a team.
They found the early connections.
In the sixth minute, midfielder Cesar Palomares found a seam and slotted a ball that Pabian finished with a quick and sharp touch.
The goal was not just an early shift in momentum. It marked a far more satisfying conclusion.
“I think we were unlucky with a couple of our games, but we were definitely hungry for a win,” Pabian said. “I think we came out and played really well and finally finished our chances, which is something we hadn’t been doing.
“We were not really finishing our chances.”
For his accomplishments, Patryk Pabian earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
Perhaps most important, the Hawks did not allow the excitement of the moment to overwhelm them. Rather than resting on the moment, Bartlett ratcheted up the intensity and tempo.
With the wind at his back, Bartlett keeper Miguel Sarmiento lofted a ball deep into the Bison’s end.
Leon was the first to it.
“I got the touch on it, and I got it in the corner, and I went inside the far post,” Leon said, completing the rare keeper assisted scoring sequence.
This was a day the Hawks not only changed their fortune, but put all their pieces together. They also recognized a vulnerability in the Bisons’ back, and they seized control.
“I didn’t expect us to strike that early and also back to back like that,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said.
“We had some early momentum even before that. You could tell the kids loosened up massively after they put in that second goal. That allowed them to be more creative and break that tension of thinking: We can’t make any mistakes or the worst is going to happen to us.”
The 2-0 lead held into the halftime break.
Fenton coach Victor Ruiz lamented his team’s lost chances.
“This game was pretty much how our season has been going,” Ruiz said. “The first two goals came off of two mistakes.
“Our biggest problem has been our inability to finish in the final third. That’s what is hurting us. The kids stepped up a little bit more than the previous games. I’ve been telling them we could easily have been undefeated coming into this game. It’s a matter of how we put the ball in the net.”
Fenton was also a bit behind the eight ball with a substitute keeper. Anthony Aquino, a midfielder, tied the line for the Bison.
Bartlett’s precocious Pabian showed a highly versatile and skilled game. Ambidextrous and able to score with either foot, he created some superb chances off his corner kicks in the second half.
Midfielder Oliver Moral also flashed promise with his free kicks.
Pabian said the team was not about to let loose after the strong first half performance.
“I think we got a little bit more confident on the ball, but at the same time we got a little cocky in some places, I felt like,” he said. “I think we needed the mindset of the game was still tied 0-0, and we had to keep playing and lift the team up.”
Fenton (1-2-2, 1-1-2) showed greater urgency and command in the second half. Now playing with the wind, the Bison developed a more consistent shape and possessed the ball with far greater frequency.
“We had better transitions and better connections today,” Ruiz said. “That is one of the things we have been stressing. Our strength is ball movement, getting touches, and we were dominating parts of the game.
“When we get away from that is when we get into trouble.”
Bartlett expanded its lead in the 59th minute.
Defender Sebastian Gluszak, who had done an excellent job throughout of building out of the back, ripped through the Bison interior and played a terrific ball in space to senior midfielder Sebastian Estefania.
“I’ve been playing with Sebastian, the one who played me the through-ball, since freshman year, and we have a really good relationship on and off the field,” Estefania said.
“At halftime, our coach gave us the speech, saying in hockey, the most dangerous lead is 2-0, so we couldn’t get overconfident. We had to keep playing our game.”
Fenton averted the shutout in the 76th minute. Star midfielder Ivan Jaramillo caught the Hawks off balance and blasted a ball from about 26 yards for a very impressive goal.
“It was a high-intensity game over all,” Jaramillo said. “We had some good combinations here and there, but we couldn’t finish. We needed to play more options and create more chances.”
Fenton managed a few other decent opportunities in the closing moments. Sarmiento finished with six saves.
Chalk this game up to lessons learned.
“We had an earlier game against Elk Grove, we had a lead, and we blew it,” Estefania said. “It’s our sixth game and our first win, so we’re pretty happy. At the same time we’re a little disappointed in ourselves.
“We feel like we should have had a win a while ago.”
Revak hopes this game puts to rest the either/or dynamic to this year’s team.
“We’re a very binary team,” Revak said. “There are some games we show up for, like our Streamwood game and today. There are some games we just don’t. We’d like to blame the pandemic, injuries or other things, but as a team, we are still finding our feet together.”
The hardest part of losing is the mental toll. Revak said all things being equal, this team is learning how to cope and survive amid a season unlike any other.
“Our kids are just happy to get out there,” he said. “That’s the whole goal of this. Even if we were winless past today, these guys would still want to get out there and play.
“In the end, the results don’t matter right now. It’s this abbreviated season; it’s just good for these guys to get out there and play and get back the social aspects of their lives. It’s great for their attitudes and great for their lives.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK: Miguel Sarmiento
D: Trey Plunkett
D: Andrew Nava
D: Sebastian Gluszak
D: Joel Perez
MF: Cesar Palomares
MF: Kai Arias
MF: Brayam Fonseca
MF: Edgar Leon
F: Patryk Pabian
F: Sebastian Larios
Fenton
GK: Anthony Aquino
D: Oscar Mastache
D: David Cano
D: Alex Lamb
D: Kamil Markowski
MF: Alex Silva
MF: Joshua Rutkowski
MF: Christopher Hernandez
MF: Christian Bailon
MF: Ivan Jaramillo
F: Brandon Arias
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patryk Pabian, sophomore., F, Bartlett
Scoring summary
First half
Bartlett—Patryk Pabian (Cesar Palomares), sixth minute
Bartlett—Edgar Leon (Miguel Sarmiento), seventh minute
Second half
Bartlett—David Estefania (Sebastian Gluszak), 59th minute
Fenton—Ivan Jaramillo (Christian Bailon), 76th minute