‘Patryk hat-trick’ a treat for Hersey
Bujak’s 1st varsity hatter highlights 8-1 defeat of Hoffman Estates
By Bill McLean
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — Patryk Bujak likes to buy sneakers and then sell them online.
The enterprising Hersey senior forward figures he has sold hundreds of pairs of footwear.
Tuesday at Hersey’s Senior Night matchup against visiting Hoffman Estates at chilly, breezy Roland R. Goins Stadium, Bujak’s feet — and wealth of soccer skills — wore out the Hawks. Bujak needed only 12 minutes in the second half of an 8-1 victory to record his first varsity hat-trick.
“I’m not a hat guy,” the shoe guy said afterward.
Bujak’s first tally, moments after his steal, opened the scoring in the second half and widened the hosts’ lead to 5-1 in the 46th minute. Some three minutes later he gathered a nice feed from senior midfielder Tasos Christacos and booted the ball past Hawks senior goalkeeper Adrian Huerta-Dominguez from close range.
Bujak capped his hatty by fielding sophomore midfielder Jack Farrell’s corner kick and netting Hersey’s seventh goal of the Mid-Suburban League match in minute 58.
Boom, boom, boom.
A hat-trick, just like that.
Bujak’s junior season in 2019 lasted only a handful of games because of a broken left foot he had sustained in the second or third week. Then, in January 2020, he suffered a torn right ACL at a University of Illinois-Chicago ID camp.
“That’s a testament to Patryk’s character, working as hard as he did to come back and be the dynamic player he is today,” said Huskies coach Michael Rusniak, whose club — ranked no. 9 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — improved to 7-0-0 overall and 7-0-0 in MSL action after allowing only its third goal of this truncated spring season.
Bujak hopes to earn a spot at Loyola University as a walk-on in 2021-22. His intended major? Business — to the surprise of nobody, especially his shoe customers.
Hersey registered its first goal Tuesday night in the eighth minute. Christacos delivered a pretty lead pass to senior forward Jake Sanders, who finished cleanly. Nearly three minutes later Hersey senior midfielder Ronan Wilcox displayed a mixture of speed and slick moves and quick cuts before blasting a shot past Huerta-Dominguez.
Hersey then went up 3-0 on senior defender Nathan Solarski’s goal off a Wilcox corner kick in the 16th minute. Wilcox struck for a successful penalty kick to complete his two-goal, one-assist first half.
“Hersey’s players know how to play together, and they play together well,” an impressed Hawks coach Sean Armstrong said after his crew slipped to 2-4-1 overall and in the MSL. “Skill, speed, experience — they have it all. But they’re more than just very good players; it’s like that team is a team full of mini-coaches out there.
“It’s unfortunate,” he added, “that they won’t get to play in a state series this season. It would have been nice to see how far they’d get in the playoffs.”
Hoffman Estates got on the board with a little more than three minutes left in the first half. Senior midfielder Erik Morales nailed a sharp, low penalty kick past Hersey senior keeper Reese Delahanty. The well-placed shot cleared the left post by inches as it entered the goal.
Bujak’s snappy hat-trick was the story in the second half. Huskies junior and reserve midfielder Andrew Hamilton scored the final goal of the night in the 72nd minute. The unassisted effort triggered a time adjustment, melting 4:08 off the scoreboard clock before play resumed.
The 8-1 final was deceptive. Hoffman Estates — with five sophomores (including starting forward Ethan Knapp and starting midfielder Connor Kurzynski) and starting freshman sweeper Carlos Cotinieto on the program’s parent club — acquitted itself well in several stretches in both halves, flashing skill and decent ball control. But Hersey has an embarrassment of tough, talent-drenched players and battles at a different level.
“We have teamwork and passion,” said Christacos, a varsity sub in 2019 and a Western Michigan University-bound business major. “We like to work for each other, and we know each other well. Our seniors work hard and do their jobs.
Rusniak lauded Christacos — one of 12 seniors recognized before the kickoff — for his unsung contributions after the two-assist night. The midfield winger doesn’t lead with his voice for a couple of reasons: He’s not wired that way, and he has plenty of teammates who don’t hesitate to guide by vocal cords. Christacos knew he’d have to take his offseason training up a notch or two to crack Hersey’s formidable starting lineup.
“I worked hard, and I got my chance,” he said.
Christacos now savors every meaningful minute in varsity garb.
“Tasos,” Rusniak said, “is smooth with the ball and incredibly smart. And his work rate is absolutely outstanding. We weren’t sure, position-wise, where he’d fit in best for us this year, but he found a home at a wing.”
Next up for Hersey is a home match versus no. 21 Fremd on Saturday at noon.
Hoffman Estates visits Fremd on Thursday.
Footnotes: Hoffman Estates coach Armstrong, as fun-loving as they come, made a bold prediction after hearing from Hersey coach Rusniak that Tuesday night’s Hoffman-Hersey game doubled as Hersey’s Senior Night game. “Oh, good,” Armstrong told Rusniak. “We’re going to spoil your Senior Night and your perfect record.” Armstrong’s take afterward: “The score got out of control. We’ve been having a difficult time playing a complete game. But I liked the way we moved the ball.” … Hoffman Estates senior back Ken Winston last played prep soccer in 2017, when he suited up for the Hawks’ freshman team. His commitment to cross country kept him off pitches in ’18 and ’19. Then the pandemic shifted soccer from a fall sport to a spring sport. Winston started for Hoffman Estates Tuesday night and played quite well against Hersey’s potent offense. “Ken totally missed soccer,” Armstrong said afterward. … Hoffman Estates played without starting junior sweeper Colin Grochal, who sat because of a knee injury. “The good news?” Armstrong said. “He didn’t tear anything.” … Cotinieto, the lone freshman starter Tuesday night, filled in admirably for Grochal.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK Adrian Huerta-Dominguez
D Ken Winston
D Matheus DeCarvalho
D Carlos Cotinieto
M Erik Morales
M Juan Figueroa
M Manny Amezcua
M Connor Kurzynski
F Ethan Knapp
F Favour Justice
F Logan Garcia
Hersey
GK Reese Delahanty
D Thomas Steger
D Jake Sanders
D Chris See
D Nathan Solarski
M Dawid Nadborski
M Tasos Christacos
M Ronan Wilcox
F Eric Worwa
F Patryk Bujak
F Sam Schuffler
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patryk Bujak, sr., F, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
Hersey — Sanders (Christacos), 8’
Hersey — Wilcox (UA), 11’
Hersey — Solarski (Wilcox), 16’
Hersey — Wilcox , PK, 30’
Hoffman Estates — Morales, PK, 37’
Second half
Hersey — Bujak (UA), 46’
Hersey — Bujak (Christacos), 49’
Hersey — Bujak (Jack Farrell), 58’
Hersey — Andrew Hamilton (UA), 72’
Bujak’s 1st varsity hatter highlights 8-1 defeat of Hoffman Estates
By Bill McLean
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — Patryk Bujak likes to buy sneakers and then sell them online.
The enterprising Hersey senior forward figures he has sold hundreds of pairs of footwear.
Tuesday at Hersey’s Senior Night matchup against visiting Hoffman Estates at chilly, breezy Roland R. Goins Stadium, Bujak’s feet — and wealth of soccer skills — wore out the Hawks. Bujak needed only 12 minutes in the second half of an 8-1 victory to record his first varsity hat-trick.
“I’m not a hat guy,” the shoe guy said afterward.
Bujak’s first tally, moments after his steal, opened the scoring in the second half and widened the hosts’ lead to 5-1 in the 46th minute. Some three minutes later he gathered a nice feed from senior midfielder Tasos Christacos and booted the ball past Hawks senior goalkeeper Adrian Huerta-Dominguez from close range.
Bujak capped his hatty by fielding sophomore midfielder Jack Farrell’s corner kick and netting Hersey’s seventh goal of the Mid-Suburban League match in minute 58.
Boom, boom, boom.
A hat-trick, just like that.
Bujak’s junior season in 2019 lasted only a handful of games because of a broken left foot he had sustained in the second or third week. Then, in January 2020, he suffered a torn right ACL at a University of Illinois-Chicago ID camp.
“That’s a testament to Patryk’s character, working as hard as he did to come back and be the dynamic player he is today,” said Huskies coach Michael Rusniak, whose club — ranked no. 9 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — improved to 7-0-0 overall and 7-0-0 in MSL action after allowing only its third goal of this truncated spring season.
Bujak hopes to earn a spot at Loyola University as a walk-on in 2021-22. His intended major? Business — to the surprise of nobody, especially his shoe customers.
Hersey registered its first goal Tuesday night in the eighth minute. Christacos delivered a pretty lead pass to senior forward Jake Sanders, who finished cleanly. Nearly three minutes later Hersey senior midfielder Ronan Wilcox displayed a mixture of speed and slick moves and quick cuts before blasting a shot past Huerta-Dominguez.
Hersey then went up 3-0 on senior defender Nathan Solarski’s goal off a Wilcox corner kick in the 16th minute. Wilcox struck for a successful penalty kick to complete his two-goal, one-assist first half.
“Hersey’s players know how to play together, and they play together well,” an impressed Hawks coach Sean Armstrong said after his crew slipped to 2-4-1 overall and in the MSL. “Skill, speed, experience — they have it all. But they’re more than just very good players; it’s like that team is a team full of mini-coaches out there.
“It’s unfortunate,” he added, “that they won’t get to play in a state series this season. It would have been nice to see how far they’d get in the playoffs.”
Hoffman Estates got on the board with a little more than three minutes left in the first half. Senior midfielder Erik Morales nailed a sharp, low penalty kick past Hersey senior keeper Reese Delahanty. The well-placed shot cleared the left post by inches as it entered the goal.
Bujak’s snappy hat-trick was the story in the second half. Huskies junior and reserve midfielder Andrew Hamilton scored the final goal of the night in the 72nd minute. The unassisted effort triggered a time adjustment, melting 4:08 off the scoreboard clock before play resumed.
The 8-1 final was deceptive. Hoffman Estates — with five sophomores (including starting forward Ethan Knapp and starting midfielder Connor Kurzynski) and starting freshman sweeper Carlos Cotinieto on the program’s parent club — acquitted itself well in several stretches in both halves, flashing skill and decent ball control. But Hersey has an embarrassment of tough, talent-drenched players and battles at a different level.
“We have teamwork and passion,” said Christacos, a varsity sub in 2019 and a Western Michigan University-bound business major. “We like to work for each other, and we know each other well. Our seniors work hard and do their jobs.
Rusniak lauded Christacos — one of 12 seniors recognized before the kickoff — for his unsung contributions after the two-assist night. The midfield winger doesn’t lead with his voice for a couple of reasons: He’s not wired that way, and he has plenty of teammates who don’t hesitate to guide by vocal cords. Christacos knew he’d have to take his offseason training up a notch or two to crack Hersey’s formidable starting lineup.
“I worked hard, and I got my chance,” he said.
Christacos now savors every meaningful minute in varsity garb.
“Tasos,” Rusniak said, “is smooth with the ball and incredibly smart. And his work rate is absolutely outstanding. We weren’t sure, position-wise, where he’d fit in best for us this year, but he found a home at a wing.”
Next up for Hersey is a home match versus no. 21 Fremd on Saturday at noon.
Hoffman Estates visits Fremd on Thursday.
Footnotes: Hoffman Estates coach Armstrong, as fun-loving as they come, made a bold prediction after hearing from Hersey coach Rusniak that Tuesday night’s Hoffman-Hersey game doubled as Hersey’s Senior Night game. “Oh, good,” Armstrong told Rusniak. “We’re going to spoil your Senior Night and your perfect record.” Armstrong’s take afterward: “The score got out of control. We’ve been having a difficult time playing a complete game. But I liked the way we moved the ball.” … Hoffman Estates senior back Ken Winston last played prep soccer in 2017, when he suited up for the Hawks’ freshman team. His commitment to cross country kept him off pitches in ’18 and ’19. Then the pandemic shifted soccer from a fall sport to a spring sport. Winston started for Hoffman Estates Tuesday night and played quite well against Hersey’s potent offense. “Ken totally missed soccer,” Armstrong said afterward. … Hoffman Estates played without starting junior sweeper Colin Grochal, who sat because of a knee injury. “The good news?” Armstrong said. “He didn’t tear anything.” … Cotinieto, the lone freshman starter Tuesday night, filled in admirably for Grochal.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK Adrian Huerta-Dominguez
D Ken Winston
D Matheus DeCarvalho
D Carlos Cotinieto
M Erik Morales
M Juan Figueroa
M Manny Amezcua
M Connor Kurzynski
F Ethan Knapp
F Favour Justice
F Logan Garcia
Hersey
GK Reese Delahanty
D Thomas Steger
D Jake Sanders
D Chris See
D Nathan Solarski
M Dawid Nadborski
M Tasos Christacos
M Ronan Wilcox
F Eric Worwa
F Patryk Bujak
F Sam Schuffler
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patryk Bujak, sr., F, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
Hersey — Sanders (Christacos), 8’
Hersey — Wilcox (UA), 11’
Hersey — Solarski (Wilcox), 16’
Hersey — Wilcox , PK, 30’
Hoffman Estates — Morales, PK, 37’
Second half
Hersey — Bujak (UA), 46’
Hersey — Bujak (Christacos), 49’
Hersey — Bujak (Jack Farrell), 58’
Hersey — Andrew Hamilton (UA), 72’