Bartlett shines in matinee win
Hawks blank East Aurora 3-0 in Upstate 8 Valley Division opener
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- With both Bartlett and East Aurora on spring break, Tuesday provided the rare opportunity for the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division foes to compete with a 1 p.m. start.
Despite the early start and a wind chill that still wasn’t ideal, Jenna Dombrowski and her Hawks teammates powered to a 3-0 victory.
It was not just a victory, but a shutout win and a first conference triumph toward repeating as Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division champs. Plus it helped erase the memory of a March 22 5-2 loss to Downers Grove North -- the no. 5-rated team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
A brace from Dombrowski increased her goal tally to five in just five contests in the young season. She now boasts two game-winners, and her bookend strikes made her an obvious choice for Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match.
It didn’t take long for Dombrowksi, a Division I signee with Ball State, to make a difference. Only 3:55 after the opening whistle, the senior midfielder blasted home an 18-yard direct kick from the left side which sailed perfectly inside the far right post.
“Their keeper was cheating a little more toward the near post so I aimed for the far side,” Dombrowski noted.
Strangely, the goal did not come against East Aurora's starting keeper. Less than a minute before the strike, the Tomcats inserted field player Alondra Monjaraz as its keeper.
Starting goalie Daisy Quinonez was involved in a collision and play was stopped. A trainer and her coach came onto the field to check on her. Despite her desire to continue, she was required to leave the field because of IHSA rules.
Quinonez returned after the score and demonstrated a fearless style that not only kept East Aurora in the match, but often had Bartlett fans groaning as she denied several breakaways and other quality chances for the Hawks.
On the other end of the field, there was 12:23 left before intermission when Bartlett keeper Teagan Noesen had her first significant touch. As for actual shots on goal, East Aurora managed a pair prior to halftime: Jacklyn Cabrera’s 31-yard direct bomb and Edith Delgaldo’s 28-yard one-hopper.
A strong goalie in her own right, Noesen faced two more attempts in the second half, one earning a save to make three total. She registered her second shutout of the year to go with a 1-0 nail-biter versus Oswego on March 19.
Bartlett’s domination was all over the statistics sheet: 24-4 for overall shot attempts; 19-3 in shots on goal; and 6-0 for corner kicks. The only negative was a 7-1 tally in offside violations.
“Seeing that was a conference match, it was important to win, be it even 1-0,” said first-year Bartlett girls coach Victor Marquez. “After (last Thursday’s) loss, we wanted to get back on a winning track. We might have been a little too cautious in the first half, keeping possession longer than needed and allowing the game to be closer.
“Another positive is that at halftime we made some adjustments and saw the value right away.”
Marquez wasn’t kidding. Only 55 seconds elapsed in the second half when the Hawks doubled their lead. Mikayla Brown had a textbook cross from the left side to the middle where Makenna Hughes pounced on and buried a 12-yard opportunity.
“That quick score after halftime was a big confidence booster, and it was an example of the kind of unselfish soccer we want to play,” Hughes explained. “We had a couple passes with each leading to a better opportunity. Because we had worked on crosses from the goal line and making vertical runs, that was an easy score for me.
“It was so wide open that for a second, I was a little nervous about missing,” Hughes admitted in regard to her second goal of the season.
One reason East Aurora’s chances were so limited was because the Hawks defense continually cut off attacks either at or just over midfield.
“We try to focus on possessing the ball for a couple reasons, first our attacks unfold from the back and second, it's important to not allow opponents to get too deep into our end,” senior defender Miranda Hedeen said. “Getting a first conference win was also crucial to show others that we’re here to compete again for the title. This time we don’t intend to share it.”
Hedeen, a returning All-UEC Valley pick from 2017 along with fellow senior teammates Dombrowski and Jessica Mirsky, who is headed to Division II Florida Southern, plus junior Tabitha Evans, led the Hawks to a 3-0-2 league record and a share of the title with Glenbard East.
“We came into today’s match wanting not just a win, but to really limit their chances,” senior defender Alyssa Modugno added. “Limiting the field the way we did allowed us to pressure their backs more, whether we worked to the outside or took advantage passing over the top. The last loss was disappointing, but today felt great to win, score goals, possess the ball and get a shutout.”
There was 14:28 remaining when Bartlett put together another example of precision passing. Ultimately, Morgan Myers drew defenders to one side and Dombrowski finished with ease.
“That was really an example of my teammates creating that goal,” Dombrowski insisted. “The defense not only shifted toward Morgan, the keeper was also cheating toward that side so all I had to do was really a toe poke.”
That last goal in particular made it easy for Marquez to endorse Dombrowski’s MVP selection.
“As play developed, Jenna continued to follow the ball movement so she was in the perfect spot to finish,” he said. “Some players make a pass and may hang back, she was part of the sequence from start to finish on that goal. One way to control the tempo of the game is possession and good passes. Jenna makes that seamless when the ball goes through her.”
To East Aurora’s credit, the Tomcats never stopped fighting. With 13:28 left, Jennifer Garcia had a solid attempt from 16 yards that required Noesen’s last save. With 6:24 still to play, Tomcat Marubeni Nieto had a 28-yard cannon shot on a direct free kick that sailed just wide right.
East Aurora's Quinonez shrugged off the constant barrage she faced.
“Being busy doesn’t really bother me, that’s what I have to do,” the senior said after making 16 stops in addition to seven defensive catch or clears that negated potentially dangerous situations. “There might have been a little extra pressure today with the 1-v.-1s.”
Both Quinonez and Nieto earned the All-UEC Valley distinction for East Aurora last year.
“She gave us another excellent effort,” East Aurora coach Obed Mendoza said of Quinonez. “We had a couple opportunities, and I saw us getting better. We're getting better on some possessions, and they’re more certain where and who to play to, so being in the right spot wasn’t just luck.”
The Tomcats travel to Romeoville on Saturday and have their second UEC Valley match at West Chicago on April 3 as a lead-up to the Pepsi tournament.
Bartlett now sets its sights on a pivotal Valley showdown on April 3 at Glenbard East. The Rams and Hawks fought to a 2-2 draw in 2017.
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK: Daisy Quinonez
D: Jacklyn Cabrera
D: Sonia Macias
D: Laura Torres
D:: Joanna Franco
M: Emely Mendoza
M: Nathalie Flores
M: Marubeni Nieto
F: Edith Delgado
F: Jennifer Garcia
F: Marubeni Nieto
Bartlett
GK: Teagan Noesen
D: Alyssa Modugno
D: Paige Bednarke
D: Miranda Hedeen
D: Kelsey Sniatynsky
M: Jessia Mirsky
M: Maddie Donnelly
M: Jenna Dombrowski
M: Makenna Hughes
F: Mikayla Brown
F: Tabitha Evans
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jenna Dombrowksi, sr., M, Bartlett
Referees: Sam Nachampassak (center), Rich Zawislak, Christie Ernst
Game summary
Bartlett 3, East Aurora 0
East Aurora 0 0 --- 0 (2-2-1 / UEC-V 0-1-0)
Bartlet 1 2 --- 3 (3-2-0 / UEC-V 1-0-0)
Scoring
B --- Dombrowski 18-yarder from left side inside far right post (unassisted), 3:55 gone
B --- Hughes 12-yarder from middle off cross (Brown assist), 40:45 gone
B --- Dombrowski 5-yard toe poke off cross (Myers assist), 65:32 gone
Shots
EA 2 – 2 ---- 4
B 13 – 11 ---- 24
Shots on goal
EA 2 – 1 ---- 3
B 9 – 10 ---- 19
Saves (goalie)
EA (Quinonez 8/Monjaraz 0) 8 – (Quinonez 8) 8 --- 16
B (Noesen) 2 - 1 --- 3
Corner kicks
EA 0 – 0 --- 0
B 3 – 3 --- 6
Offsides
EA 0 – 1 --- 1
B 4 – 3 --- 7
Hawks blank East Aurora 3-0 in Upstate 8 Valley Division opener
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- With both Bartlett and East Aurora on spring break, Tuesday provided the rare opportunity for the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division foes to compete with a 1 p.m. start.
Despite the early start and a wind chill that still wasn’t ideal, Jenna Dombrowski and her Hawks teammates powered to a 3-0 victory.
It was not just a victory, but a shutout win and a first conference triumph toward repeating as Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division champs. Plus it helped erase the memory of a March 22 5-2 loss to Downers Grove North -- the no. 5-rated team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
A brace from Dombrowski increased her goal tally to five in just five contests in the young season. She now boasts two game-winners, and her bookend strikes made her an obvious choice for Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match.
It didn’t take long for Dombrowksi, a Division I signee with Ball State, to make a difference. Only 3:55 after the opening whistle, the senior midfielder blasted home an 18-yard direct kick from the left side which sailed perfectly inside the far right post.
“Their keeper was cheating a little more toward the near post so I aimed for the far side,” Dombrowski noted.
Strangely, the goal did not come against East Aurora's starting keeper. Less than a minute before the strike, the Tomcats inserted field player Alondra Monjaraz as its keeper.
Starting goalie Daisy Quinonez was involved in a collision and play was stopped. A trainer and her coach came onto the field to check on her. Despite her desire to continue, she was required to leave the field because of IHSA rules.
Quinonez returned after the score and demonstrated a fearless style that not only kept East Aurora in the match, but often had Bartlett fans groaning as she denied several breakaways and other quality chances for the Hawks.
On the other end of the field, there was 12:23 left before intermission when Bartlett keeper Teagan Noesen had her first significant touch. As for actual shots on goal, East Aurora managed a pair prior to halftime: Jacklyn Cabrera’s 31-yard direct bomb and Edith Delgaldo’s 28-yard one-hopper.
A strong goalie in her own right, Noesen faced two more attempts in the second half, one earning a save to make three total. She registered her second shutout of the year to go with a 1-0 nail-biter versus Oswego on March 19.
Bartlett’s domination was all over the statistics sheet: 24-4 for overall shot attempts; 19-3 in shots on goal; and 6-0 for corner kicks. The only negative was a 7-1 tally in offside violations.
“Seeing that was a conference match, it was important to win, be it even 1-0,” said first-year Bartlett girls coach Victor Marquez. “After (last Thursday’s) loss, we wanted to get back on a winning track. We might have been a little too cautious in the first half, keeping possession longer than needed and allowing the game to be closer.
“Another positive is that at halftime we made some adjustments and saw the value right away.”
Marquez wasn’t kidding. Only 55 seconds elapsed in the second half when the Hawks doubled their lead. Mikayla Brown had a textbook cross from the left side to the middle where Makenna Hughes pounced on and buried a 12-yard opportunity.
“That quick score after halftime was a big confidence booster, and it was an example of the kind of unselfish soccer we want to play,” Hughes explained. “We had a couple passes with each leading to a better opportunity. Because we had worked on crosses from the goal line and making vertical runs, that was an easy score for me.
“It was so wide open that for a second, I was a little nervous about missing,” Hughes admitted in regard to her second goal of the season.
One reason East Aurora’s chances were so limited was because the Hawks defense continually cut off attacks either at or just over midfield.
“We try to focus on possessing the ball for a couple reasons, first our attacks unfold from the back and second, it's important to not allow opponents to get too deep into our end,” senior defender Miranda Hedeen said. “Getting a first conference win was also crucial to show others that we’re here to compete again for the title. This time we don’t intend to share it.”
Hedeen, a returning All-UEC Valley pick from 2017 along with fellow senior teammates Dombrowski and Jessica Mirsky, who is headed to Division II Florida Southern, plus junior Tabitha Evans, led the Hawks to a 3-0-2 league record and a share of the title with Glenbard East.
“We came into today’s match wanting not just a win, but to really limit their chances,” senior defender Alyssa Modugno added. “Limiting the field the way we did allowed us to pressure their backs more, whether we worked to the outside or took advantage passing over the top. The last loss was disappointing, but today felt great to win, score goals, possess the ball and get a shutout.”
There was 14:28 remaining when Bartlett put together another example of precision passing. Ultimately, Morgan Myers drew defenders to one side and Dombrowski finished with ease.
“That was really an example of my teammates creating that goal,” Dombrowski insisted. “The defense not only shifted toward Morgan, the keeper was also cheating toward that side so all I had to do was really a toe poke.”
That last goal in particular made it easy for Marquez to endorse Dombrowski’s MVP selection.
“As play developed, Jenna continued to follow the ball movement so she was in the perfect spot to finish,” he said. “Some players make a pass and may hang back, she was part of the sequence from start to finish on that goal. One way to control the tempo of the game is possession and good passes. Jenna makes that seamless when the ball goes through her.”
To East Aurora’s credit, the Tomcats never stopped fighting. With 13:28 left, Jennifer Garcia had a solid attempt from 16 yards that required Noesen’s last save. With 6:24 still to play, Tomcat Marubeni Nieto had a 28-yard cannon shot on a direct free kick that sailed just wide right.
East Aurora's Quinonez shrugged off the constant barrage she faced.
“Being busy doesn’t really bother me, that’s what I have to do,” the senior said after making 16 stops in addition to seven defensive catch or clears that negated potentially dangerous situations. “There might have been a little extra pressure today with the 1-v.-1s.”
Both Quinonez and Nieto earned the All-UEC Valley distinction for East Aurora last year.
“She gave us another excellent effort,” East Aurora coach Obed Mendoza said of Quinonez. “We had a couple opportunities, and I saw us getting better. We're getting better on some possessions, and they’re more certain where and who to play to, so being in the right spot wasn’t just luck.”
The Tomcats travel to Romeoville on Saturday and have their second UEC Valley match at West Chicago on April 3 as a lead-up to the Pepsi tournament.
Bartlett now sets its sights on a pivotal Valley showdown on April 3 at Glenbard East. The Rams and Hawks fought to a 2-2 draw in 2017.
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK: Daisy Quinonez
D: Jacklyn Cabrera
D: Sonia Macias
D: Laura Torres
D:: Joanna Franco
M: Emely Mendoza
M: Nathalie Flores
M: Marubeni Nieto
F: Edith Delgado
F: Jennifer Garcia
F: Marubeni Nieto
Bartlett
GK: Teagan Noesen
D: Alyssa Modugno
D: Paige Bednarke
D: Miranda Hedeen
D: Kelsey Sniatynsky
M: Jessia Mirsky
M: Maddie Donnelly
M: Jenna Dombrowski
M: Makenna Hughes
F: Mikayla Brown
F: Tabitha Evans
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Jenna Dombrowksi, sr., M, Bartlett
Referees: Sam Nachampassak (center), Rich Zawislak, Christie Ernst
Game summary
Bartlett 3, East Aurora 0
East Aurora 0 0 --- 0 (2-2-1 / UEC-V 0-1-0)
Bartlet 1 2 --- 3 (3-2-0 / UEC-V 1-0-0)
Scoring
B --- Dombrowski 18-yarder from left side inside far right post (unassisted), 3:55 gone
B --- Hughes 12-yarder from middle off cross (Brown assist), 40:45 gone
B --- Dombrowski 5-yard toe poke off cross (Myers assist), 65:32 gone
Shots
EA 2 – 2 ---- 4
B 13 – 11 ---- 24
Shots on goal
EA 2 – 1 ---- 3
B 9 – 10 ---- 19
Saves (goalie)
EA (Quinonez 8/Monjaraz 0) 8 – (Quinonez 8) 8 --- 16
B (Noesen) 2 - 1 --- 3
Corner kicks
EA 0 – 0 --- 0
B 3 – 3 --- 6
Offsides
EA 0 – 1 --- 1
B 4 – 3 --- 7