Mid-season success continues for Bartlett
Hawks post 8-1 win over Antioch, finish 2nd in Hampshire tourney
By Steve Nemeth
HAMPSHIRE --- New and improved sounds too much like a commercial, and it’s not like Bartlett revamped its roster.
However the Hawks are undoubtedly a lot of “re” going on, as in re-energized, rejuvenated, refocused, resurgent, reinvigorated, renewed, revived, refreshed, retooled -- let’s just say for real.
After managing just one win during their first eight matches while being outscored 22-8, Saturday marked further proof of Bartlett’s turnaround.
The Hawks (5-9-2) cruised to an 8-1 victory over Antioch (3-16-0) in the 10th annual Hampshire Invitational. That result gives Bartlett a 4-3-1 ledger over its last eight matches. During the run its outscored foes 15-6.
This year’s invite became a round-robin affair. By winning two of three, the Hawks took second place. Ironically it mirrors last season’s finish when the event featured two pools with the group winners facing off for the title.
One notable difference, in 2017 Bartlett entered the event winless after 12 matches. It helped propel the Hawks to a 1-0 regional final loss to second-seeded Lake Park. That scoreline was double-take worthy since the team was seeded 18th out of 19 squads in the sectional.
Also worth noting is that the most recent success means Bartlett has matched last season's total wins. Starting with an Upstate Eight Conference matchup against Larkin on Monday, the Hawks have five more chances to continue building their win column.
“Obviously it’s nice to have a win, but it’s even better having so many guys involved in our attack,” co-head coach Vince Revak said.
That in itself is a partial understatement.
Seven players accounted for eight goals and six others aided the effort with assists. However, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolade was earned by Carlos Alfaro for his box-to-box play and hustle, which were not represented in the goal column.
“He’s a perfect pick, because he really worked tirelessly in the middle,” Revak said. “He involved himself in the game at every moment. He kept possession well today and really created a number of opportunities for our players in the final third of the field.”
Beyond earning credit for the final set-up, Alfaro would have tripled his assist tally since his kicks either preceded or led to actual set-ups.
The offensive explosion began in the second minute when tri-captain Kevin Nava played a solid cross to the left side where Amine Medmoun used the pass for an 11-yard strike past Antioch starting keeper Joey Whittall.
“I was making a run, and Kevin was on the right side from where he gave me a great ball,” Medmoun recalled. “I saw the keeper kind of leaning so I took advantage of him leaning and went near post.”
In the 16th minute, Ethan Sproule spotted teammate Kamil Jarzabek heading for open space directly in front of the net. With the pass becoming a high hop, Jarzabek cleverly chipped it up and over the outrushing Whittall.
“At first I just saw the ball going over my head but then I caught sight of the goalie not looking 100 percent positive what to do,” Jarzabek noted. “He was a little late coming out so I just flicked it up and over. Once it bounced in it felt great. Taking advantage of a moment like that to score in a tourney really gets the adrenaline going.”
Five minutes later it was Tyler Serpico making a stellar pass to Rudy Reyes, who was attacking on the right side. Reyes buried his shot inside the far left post to put the Hawks up three.
In just 21 minutes Bartlett had matched the most goals they had scored in any previous contest.
However Bartlett wasn’t done. In the 30th minute, Serpico and Mauricio Vigil worked a give-and-go with Vigil scoring from nine yards.
“I got a great through-ball and could see the keeper leaning more my way so I went far post,” Vigil said.
Antioch proved to be opportunistic getting one back in the 37th minute. Alex Keeler’s direct free kick had enough knuckle on it that Bartlett goalie Jeremy Taylor was only able to do a body block. The resulting rebound went right to Aiden Trusky for an easy putback via an eight-yard header.
“While we had a productive day on offense, we were playing pretty stingy defensively to make a small mistake,” Revak said. “The lesson is for us to never let down. Although all in all, the match ended well for us.”
That was clearly the case as the Hawks matched their first half scoring. After gaining a seven-goal margin, Bartlett shaved two minutes of the second half clock.
Reyes earned his second goal of the match while Serpico was recording his third assist in the 56th minute. That resulted in Antioch back-up keeper Ian Gugel taking over for the remainder of the match.
Tri-captain Nico Gomez made it 6-1 by converting a penalty kick in the 64th minute. Vigil chalked up his second assist when he fed Brandon Palid for a virtual empty-net finish from seven yards in the 72nd minute.
“Seeing Brandon making a run on the other side I made up my mind to move forward a little more to draw the keeper out further so that all I had to do was get a good ball over to Brandon,” Vigil said.
Bartlett put the finishing touch on the win in the 76th minute as Alfaro spotted Omar Chavez wide open, and the senior boomed a 36-yard rocket off the right post and in.
Starting lineups
Antioch
GK Joey Whittall
D Brandon Pinto
D Christian Ortiz
D Eli Ruano
D Trevor Niznik
M Remingijus Ivanovas
M Troy Coleman
M Alex Keeler
M Adam Lynn
F Brock Jurinek
F Aiden Trusky
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Ethan Sproule
D Austin Cichon
D Nico Gomez
D Hernan Garcia
M Brandon Palid
M Amine Medmoun
M Carlos Alfaro
M Kevin Nava
F Kamil Jarzabek
F Anthony Garcia
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carlos Alfaro, sr., M, Bartlett
Referees: John Guild, Chuck Raksinh
Game summary
Bartlett 8, Antioch 1
Antioch 1 0 --- 1 (3-16-0)
Bartlett 4 4 --- 8 (5-9-2)
Scoring (no scoreboard clock, times courtesy of match officials)
First half
B – Medmoun left side 11-yarder off solid cross (Nava assist), 2nd minute
B – Jarzabek crafty 16-yard chip over out-rushing keeper (Sproule assist), 16th minute
B – Reyes right-side attack for 11-yarder inside far left (Serpico assist), 21st minute
B – Vigil nine-yard strike from left from solid give-and-go (Serpico assist), 30thminute
A – Trusky putback eight-yard header off rebound (Keeler assist), 37th minute
Second half
B – Reyes 12-yarder from he middle off cross (Serpico assist), 56th minute
B – Gomez penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 64thminute
B – Palid seven-yard open-net finish off cross (Vigil assist), 72nd minute
B – Chavez 36-yard rocket shot off right post (Alfaro assist), *76th minute
* -- remaining time reduced by two minutes
Shots
A 2 – 1 --- 3
B 12 – 11 --- 23
Shots on goal
A 1 – 1 --- 2
B 9 – 6 --- 15
Saves (GK)
A (Whitall, 56 min. 5 - 1) 6 – (Gugel, 22 min. 1) 1 --- 7
B (Taylor, 78 min.) 1 – 1 --- 2
Corner kicks
A 1 – 0 --- 1
B 1 - 3 --- 4
Offsides
A 0 – 0 --- 0
B 5 – 2 --- 7
Hawks post 8-1 win over Antioch, finish 2nd in Hampshire tourney
By Steve Nemeth
HAMPSHIRE --- New and improved sounds too much like a commercial, and it’s not like Bartlett revamped its roster.
However the Hawks are undoubtedly a lot of “re” going on, as in re-energized, rejuvenated, refocused, resurgent, reinvigorated, renewed, revived, refreshed, retooled -- let’s just say for real.
After managing just one win during their first eight matches while being outscored 22-8, Saturday marked further proof of Bartlett’s turnaround.
The Hawks (5-9-2) cruised to an 8-1 victory over Antioch (3-16-0) in the 10th annual Hampshire Invitational. That result gives Bartlett a 4-3-1 ledger over its last eight matches. During the run its outscored foes 15-6.
This year’s invite became a round-robin affair. By winning two of three, the Hawks took second place. Ironically it mirrors last season’s finish when the event featured two pools with the group winners facing off for the title.
One notable difference, in 2017 Bartlett entered the event winless after 12 matches. It helped propel the Hawks to a 1-0 regional final loss to second-seeded Lake Park. That scoreline was double-take worthy since the team was seeded 18th out of 19 squads in the sectional.
Also worth noting is that the most recent success means Bartlett has matched last season's total wins. Starting with an Upstate Eight Conference matchup against Larkin on Monday, the Hawks have five more chances to continue building their win column.
“Obviously it’s nice to have a win, but it’s even better having so many guys involved in our attack,” co-head coach Vince Revak said.
That in itself is a partial understatement.
Seven players accounted for eight goals and six others aided the effort with assists. However, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolade was earned by Carlos Alfaro for his box-to-box play and hustle, which were not represented in the goal column.
“He’s a perfect pick, because he really worked tirelessly in the middle,” Revak said. “He involved himself in the game at every moment. He kept possession well today and really created a number of opportunities for our players in the final third of the field.”
Beyond earning credit for the final set-up, Alfaro would have tripled his assist tally since his kicks either preceded or led to actual set-ups.
The offensive explosion began in the second minute when tri-captain Kevin Nava played a solid cross to the left side where Amine Medmoun used the pass for an 11-yard strike past Antioch starting keeper Joey Whittall.
“I was making a run, and Kevin was on the right side from where he gave me a great ball,” Medmoun recalled. “I saw the keeper kind of leaning so I took advantage of him leaning and went near post.”
In the 16th minute, Ethan Sproule spotted teammate Kamil Jarzabek heading for open space directly in front of the net. With the pass becoming a high hop, Jarzabek cleverly chipped it up and over the outrushing Whittall.
“At first I just saw the ball going over my head but then I caught sight of the goalie not looking 100 percent positive what to do,” Jarzabek noted. “He was a little late coming out so I just flicked it up and over. Once it bounced in it felt great. Taking advantage of a moment like that to score in a tourney really gets the adrenaline going.”
Five minutes later it was Tyler Serpico making a stellar pass to Rudy Reyes, who was attacking on the right side. Reyes buried his shot inside the far left post to put the Hawks up three.
In just 21 minutes Bartlett had matched the most goals they had scored in any previous contest.
However Bartlett wasn’t done. In the 30th minute, Serpico and Mauricio Vigil worked a give-and-go with Vigil scoring from nine yards.
“I got a great through-ball and could see the keeper leaning more my way so I went far post,” Vigil said.
Antioch proved to be opportunistic getting one back in the 37th minute. Alex Keeler’s direct free kick had enough knuckle on it that Bartlett goalie Jeremy Taylor was only able to do a body block. The resulting rebound went right to Aiden Trusky for an easy putback via an eight-yard header.
“While we had a productive day on offense, we were playing pretty stingy defensively to make a small mistake,” Revak said. “The lesson is for us to never let down. Although all in all, the match ended well for us.”
That was clearly the case as the Hawks matched their first half scoring. After gaining a seven-goal margin, Bartlett shaved two minutes of the second half clock.
Reyes earned his second goal of the match while Serpico was recording his third assist in the 56th minute. That resulted in Antioch back-up keeper Ian Gugel taking over for the remainder of the match.
Tri-captain Nico Gomez made it 6-1 by converting a penalty kick in the 64th minute. Vigil chalked up his second assist when he fed Brandon Palid for a virtual empty-net finish from seven yards in the 72nd minute.
“Seeing Brandon making a run on the other side I made up my mind to move forward a little more to draw the keeper out further so that all I had to do was get a good ball over to Brandon,” Vigil said.
Bartlett put the finishing touch on the win in the 76th minute as Alfaro spotted Omar Chavez wide open, and the senior boomed a 36-yard rocket off the right post and in.
Starting lineups
Antioch
GK Joey Whittall
D Brandon Pinto
D Christian Ortiz
D Eli Ruano
D Trevor Niznik
M Remingijus Ivanovas
M Troy Coleman
M Alex Keeler
M Adam Lynn
F Brock Jurinek
F Aiden Trusky
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Ethan Sproule
D Austin Cichon
D Nico Gomez
D Hernan Garcia
M Brandon Palid
M Amine Medmoun
M Carlos Alfaro
M Kevin Nava
F Kamil Jarzabek
F Anthony Garcia
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carlos Alfaro, sr., M, Bartlett
Referees: John Guild, Chuck Raksinh
Game summary
Bartlett 8, Antioch 1
Antioch 1 0 --- 1 (3-16-0)
Bartlett 4 4 --- 8 (5-9-2)
Scoring (no scoreboard clock, times courtesy of match officials)
First half
B – Medmoun left side 11-yarder off solid cross (Nava assist), 2nd minute
B – Jarzabek crafty 16-yard chip over out-rushing keeper (Sproule assist), 16th minute
B – Reyes right-side attack for 11-yarder inside far left (Serpico assist), 21st minute
B – Vigil nine-yard strike from left from solid give-and-go (Serpico assist), 30thminute
A – Trusky putback eight-yard header off rebound (Keeler assist), 37th minute
Second half
B – Reyes 12-yarder from he middle off cross (Serpico assist), 56th minute
B – Gomez penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 64thminute
B – Palid seven-yard open-net finish off cross (Vigil assist), 72nd minute
B – Chavez 36-yard rocket shot off right post (Alfaro assist), *76th minute
* -- remaining time reduced by two minutes
Shots
A 2 – 1 --- 3
B 12 – 11 --- 23
Shots on goal
A 1 – 1 --- 2
B 9 – 6 --- 15
Saves (GK)
A (Whitall, 56 min. 5 - 1) 6 – (Gugel, 22 min. 1) 1 --- 7
B (Taylor, 78 min.) 1 – 1 --- 2
Corner kicks
A 1 – 0 --- 1
B 1 - 3 --- 4
Offsides
A 0 – 0 --- 0
B 5 – 2 --- 7