Bartlett finds scoring touch
against Streamwood
Hawks pass previous combined-scoring total in 4-0 Upstate 8 win
By Curt Herron
STREAMWOOD -- After scoring three goals during their first five matches, it's easy to see why the players on Bartlett were so excited when they had that many goals before the opening half was complete in their Upstate Eight Conference opener on Monday against Streamwood at Millennium Field
And after collecting their second shoutout victory in their last three matches with the 4-0 win over the Sabres on the latter's turf in both sides' initial School District U-46 matchup, coach Vince Revak's defending conference champions suddenly are feeling a whole lot better about what they might be able to accomplish this season.
Viviana Alba, Laney Stark and Gianna Imperatrice all connected in the first 33 minutes, and Sabrina Fowler added a final tally in the second half to highlight an evening where Bartlett (2-3-1, 1-0-0) dominated on scoring chances and likely could have had a few more goals if not for the efforts of Sabres goalie Selina Chavez.
Alba's short tally in the fifth minute set the tone. Bartlett's hopes were boosted in the 22nd minute when Fowler set up Grace Johansen, who made a nice pass to Stark for another close-range finish for the second goal. Then Stark handed out an assist to Imperatrice, who fired in a liner from the side in the 33rd minute. Fowler converted on one of her many dangerous restarts when she sent in a free kick in the 53rd minute.
The Hawks went 1-2-0 at last week's Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational in St. Charles. The experience of a 1-0 victory over Sycamore on Thursday and playing tough squads like runnerup St. Charles East and third place Maine South steeled the group.
The results after nearly two weeks of training helped ease some of the concerns about early season scoring woes.
"We've been struggling offensively so far this season, so it was really nice to see us get on the board multiple times against a Streamwood team that really battled," Revak said.
"It's nice to play against those good teams, because it really shows kind of what you're made of. And it was nice to see that the girls battled, no matter what. Even though we didn't get many of the results that we wanted, it's good to see that we're willing to step up when the time is right.
"We were able to possess a little better today. We look the best when we play the ball quick and play one-two passing and find that diagonal ball behind. We really found a lot of those options today. When we played too fast or too slow or too direct, that's when we were giving the ball away too often. But we'll work on that.
"I like their attitudes and their efforts. With their attitudes, they can bounce back from just about anything, which is key for a longer season now. This will be the first long season in three years.
“We haven't really turned away from any challenge so far this season, which is good, and we're going to need that type of gumption to really stick with it."
Bartlett scored on its first good chance of the evening when Alba got free and put in a shot from about 10 yards. The Hawks continued to apply pressure as Madison Neer, Alexis DeRango and Johansen all had good attempts over the next few minutes that fell short of the net.
"I struggle a lot with shooting, so that goal definitely boosted my confidence," Alba said. "We have trained a lot on trying to connect passes. I really like how everybody is starting to get along, and we all connected really easily.
“I feel like we can all be ourselves around each other and boost each other's confidence."
Shortly after Streamwood’s Esther Cardenas broke up a run by Alba as she sought her second goal, the Hawks went up 2-0 in the 22nd minute when Fowler got things started. She directed the ball to Johansen, who then sent a quick pass to Stark. The sophomore midfielder fired in a liner from about 10 yards to mark the offense’s first multiple-goal match of the season.
In the 25th minute, Cardenas provided Streamwood (1-4-0, 1-1-0) with one of its best scoring chances in the opening half when she sent in an indirect free kick from 40 yards which required goalie Megan Kron to read the ball correctly and then haul in the threatening ball.
Bartlett’s Brooke Baumann had a liner turned away by Chavez. Not long after, Imperatrice’s shot on the ground was thwarted. She followed that up with her goal.
"Scoring a goal in the first few minutes definitely gave us more momentum, and it brings down the other team's confidence," Imperatrice said. "We're trying to connect better, and we are establishing good possession, and that's definitely a good thing.
“We really need our possession to get better, and our first touch is something that we need to work on. After that first goal, it brought our confidence up and our touches were better, and we were anticipating more.
"I like our ability to build our confidence up and to build each other up again, especially if we're not feeling the best or are having a tough game. We're always there for each other, and we support each other no matter what the circumstances are."
Thought the scoring concluded, there was still more drama before the intermission. Baumann was turned away before the Sabres got another long free kick from Cardenas that was headed away by Macy Medendorp. Just prior to the halftime whistle, Imperatrice headed a pass to Stark, whose shot went just wide of the net.
Bartlett came out strong again to start the final half. Stark had a pair of good chances denied in the early going, and a free kick by Fowler glanced off defenders to the goalie. The senior defender sent a corner kick in front that roamed free and led to an unsuccessful attempt from DeRango.
The Hawks collected the match's final goal in the 53rd minute when co-captain Fowler scored on a free kick from just beyond the top of the box. DeRango, Imperatrice and Baumann all had good chances after that, but Chavez came up with more big stops.
"We've been working a lot in practice on moving around a lot and defending as a unit, since we struggled with that in our first games," Fowler said. "With us playing against better competition in the St. Charles tournament, we played more defense, because they're more technical teams. By moving as a unit, it was easier to distribute to each other.
"We've been struggling to finish our opportunities, so I think this game just gives us more confidence with our shooting. We've been able to create chances in past games, but in this game we were able to create them quite often. Being able to finish just helps us out.
“I like the bond of our team. This year we all have been able to get to know each other, and we hang out. We have a bunch of siblings on our team, so that really helps out a lot. And it helps the chemistry of our team, because a lot of us play club together."
Streamwood has struggled since kicking off their Upstate Eight campaign with a 2-0 victory at West Chicago on March 16. Since that time, they've lost three in a row.
Despite seeing his team fall behind early and trail 3-0 at halftime, coach Matt Polovin likes the fight that his squad is showing.
That was certainly seen during the final 10 minutes of the match when Streamwood had three of its best chances. They came in a two-minute stretch where Daniela Sanchez, Dayanara Huerta and Emma Skrgic were all thwarted by the Hawk's second half keeper Maggie Yurkovich.
Bartlett also had one late chance to score but Chavez made a diving deflection off a good attempt from Lizzie Dzielski.
"Our defense was a little flat in the first half," Polovin said. "We work on breaking the attacking players down in practice all of the time, but then we had three perfect opportunities to do that, and we just didn't do it. We just kind of let them run by us. I changed our formation and moved a couple of people around, so it's going to be a work in progress.
"We have some girls who are very experienced and we have some who are just not as experienced, and that's how it is. The less-experienced girls really have to start stepping up and have to play to the level that they know that I expect and that their teammates expect. And if we can get to that level, then things will come a little easier to us.
"But they still work hard and do the best that they can. I told them that I appreciate the effort that they made in the last 15 minutes where they were still creating chances.
“Their goalie made a real nice save on Dayanara's shot and sometimes all it takes for a team like us is to get two of those in at the end of a game. Our next game is on Wednesday against Elgin, and I told them that we need to take what we did toward the end of the game and feed off of that and bring that into Wednesday's game."
Startling lineups
Streamwood
G Selina Chavez
D Jeidy Salazar
D Esther Cardenas
D Karla Morales
D Erinn Kelly
M Reyna Saldivar
M Milanie Martinez
M Emma Skrgic
M Jessica Rosales
F Dayanara Huerta
F Diana Herrera
Bartlett
G Megan Kron
D Sabrina Fowler
D Macy Medendorp
D Gracie Cwik
D Madison Neer
M Alexis DeRango
M Lizzie Dzielski
M Brooke Baumann
M Hailey Morhardt
F Viviana Alba
F Gianna Imperatrice
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Sabrina Fowler, sr., D, Bartlett; Laney Stark, so., MF, Bartlett
Scoring summary
First half
B: Viviana Alba, 5th minute
B: Laney Stark (Grace Johansen), 22nd minute
B: Gianna Imperatrice (Laney Stark), 33rd minute
Second half
B: Sabrina Fowler, 53rd minute
against Streamwood
Hawks pass previous combined-scoring total in 4-0 Upstate 8 win
By Curt Herron
STREAMWOOD -- After scoring three goals during their first five matches, it's easy to see why the players on Bartlett were so excited when they had that many goals before the opening half was complete in their Upstate Eight Conference opener on Monday against Streamwood at Millennium Field
And after collecting their second shoutout victory in their last three matches with the 4-0 win over the Sabres on the latter's turf in both sides' initial School District U-46 matchup, coach Vince Revak's defending conference champions suddenly are feeling a whole lot better about what they might be able to accomplish this season.
Viviana Alba, Laney Stark and Gianna Imperatrice all connected in the first 33 minutes, and Sabrina Fowler added a final tally in the second half to highlight an evening where Bartlett (2-3-1, 1-0-0) dominated on scoring chances and likely could have had a few more goals if not for the efforts of Sabres goalie Selina Chavez.
Alba's short tally in the fifth minute set the tone. Bartlett's hopes were boosted in the 22nd minute when Fowler set up Grace Johansen, who made a nice pass to Stark for another close-range finish for the second goal. Then Stark handed out an assist to Imperatrice, who fired in a liner from the side in the 33rd minute. Fowler converted on one of her many dangerous restarts when she sent in a free kick in the 53rd minute.
The Hawks went 1-2-0 at last week's Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational in St. Charles. The experience of a 1-0 victory over Sycamore on Thursday and playing tough squads like runnerup St. Charles East and third place Maine South steeled the group.
The results after nearly two weeks of training helped ease some of the concerns about early season scoring woes.
"We've been struggling offensively so far this season, so it was really nice to see us get on the board multiple times against a Streamwood team that really battled," Revak said.
"It's nice to play against those good teams, because it really shows kind of what you're made of. And it was nice to see that the girls battled, no matter what. Even though we didn't get many of the results that we wanted, it's good to see that we're willing to step up when the time is right.
"We were able to possess a little better today. We look the best when we play the ball quick and play one-two passing and find that diagonal ball behind. We really found a lot of those options today. When we played too fast or too slow or too direct, that's when we were giving the ball away too often. But we'll work on that.
"I like their attitudes and their efforts. With their attitudes, they can bounce back from just about anything, which is key for a longer season now. This will be the first long season in three years.
“We haven't really turned away from any challenge so far this season, which is good, and we're going to need that type of gumption to really stick with it."
Bartlett scored on its first good chance of the evening when Alba got free and put in a shot from about 10 yards. The Hawks continued to apply pressure as Madison Neer, Alexis DeRango and Johansen all had good attempts over the next few minutes that fell short of the net.
"I struggle a lot with shooting, so that goal definitely boosted my confidence," Alba said. "We have trained a lot on trying to connect passes. I really like how everybody is starting to get along, and we all connected really easily.
“I feel like we can all be ourselves around each other and boost each other's confidence."
Shortly after Streamwood’s Esther Cardenas broke up a run by Alba as she sought her second goal, the Hawks went up 2-0 in the 22nd minute when Fowler got things started. She directed the ball to Johansen, who then sent a quick pass to Stark. The sophomore midfielder fired in a liner from about 10 yards to mark the offense’s first multiple-goal match of the season.
In the 25th minute, Cardenas provided Streamwood (1-4-0, 1-1-0) with one of its best scoring chances in the opening half when she sent in an indirect free kick from 40 yards which required goalie Megan Kron to read the ball correctly and then haul in the threatening ball.
Bartlett’s Brooke Baumann had a liner turned away by Chavez. Not long after, Imperatrice’s shot on the ground was thwarted. She followed that up with her goal.
"Scoring a goal in the first few minutes definitely gave us more momentum, and it brings down the other team's confidence," Imperatrice said. "We're trying to connect better, and we are establishing good possession, and that's definitely a good thing.
“We really need our possession to get better, and our first touch is something that we need to work on. After that first goal, it brought our confidence up and our touches were better, and we were anticipating more.
"I like our ability to build our confidence up and to build each other up again, especially if we're not feeling the best or are having a tough game. We're always there for each other, and we support each other no matter what the circumstances are."
Thought the scoring concluded, there was still more drama before the intermission. Baumann was turned away before the Sabres got another long free kick from Cardenas that was headed away by Macy Medendorp. Just prior to the halftime whistle, Imperatrice headed a pass to Stark, whose shot went just wide of the net.
Bartlett came out strong again to start the final half. Stark had a pair of good chances denied in the early going, and a free kick by Fowler glanced off defenders to the goalie. The senior defender sent a corner kick in front that roamed free and led to an unsuccessful attempt from DeRango.
The Hawks collected the match's final goal in the 53rd minute when co-captain Fowler scored on a free kick from just beyond the top of the box. DeRango, Imperatrice and Baumann all had good chances after that, but Chavez came up with more big stops.
"We've been working a lot in practice on moving around a lot and defending as a unit, since we struggled with that in our first games," Fowler said. "With us playing against better competition in the St. Charles tournament, we played more defense, because they're more technical teams. By moving as a unit, it was easier to distribute to each other.
"We've been struggling to finish our opportunities, so I think this game just gives us more confidence with our shooting. We've been able to create chances in past games, but in this game we were able to create them quite often. Being able to finish just helps us out.
“I like the bond of our team. This year we all have been able to get to know each other, and we hang out. We have a bunch of siblings on our team, so that really helps out a lot. And it helps the chemistry of our team, because a lot of us play club together."
Streamwood has struggled since kicking off their Upstate Eight campaign with a 2-0 victory at West Chicago on March 16. Since that time, they've lost three in a row.
Despite seeing his team fall behind early and trail 3-0 at halftime, coach Matt Polovin likes the fight that his squad is showing.
That was certainly seen during the final 10 minutes of the match when Streamwood had three of its best chances. They came in a two-minute stretch where Daniela Sanchez, Dayanara Huerta and Emma Skrgic were all thwarted by the Hawk's second half keeper Maggie Yurkovich.
Bartlett also had one late chance to score but Chavez made a diving deflection off a good attempt from Lizzie Dzielski.
"Our defense was a little flat in the first half," Polovin said. "We work on breaking the attacking players down in practice all of the time, but then we had three perfect opportunities to do that, and we just didn't do it. We just kind of let them run by us. I changed our formation and moved a couple of people around, so it's going to be a work in progress.
"We have some girls who are very experienced and we have some who are just not as experienced, and that's how it is. The less-experienced girls really have to start stepping up and have to play to the level that they know that I expect and that their teammates expect. And if we can get to that level, then things will come a little easier to us.
"But they still work hard and do the best that they can. I told them that I appreciate the effort that they made in the last 15 minutes where they were still creating chances.
“Their goalie made a real nice save on Dayanara's shot and sometimes all it takes for a team like us is to get two of those in at the end of a game. Our next game is on Wednesday against Elgin, and I told them that we need to take what we did toward the end of the game and feed off of that and bring that into Wednesday's game."
Startling lineups
Streamwood
G Selina Chavez
D Jeidy Salazar
D Esther Cardenas
D Karla Morales
D Erinn Kelly
M Reyna Saldivar
M Milanie Martinez
M Emma Skrgic
M Jessica Rosales
F Dayanara Huerta
F Diana Herrera
Bartlett
G Megan Kron
D Sabrina Fowler
D Macy Medendorp
D Gracie Cwik
D Madison Neer
M Alexis DeRango
M Lizzie Dzielski
M Brooke Baumann
M Hailey Morhardt
F Viviana Alba
F Gianna Imperatrice
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match: Sabrina Fowler, sr., D, Bartlett; Laney Stark, so., MF, Bartlett
Scoring summary
First half
B: Viviana Alba, 5th minute
B: Laney Stark (Grace Johansen), 22nd minute
B: Gianna Imperatrice (Laney Stark), 33rd minute
Second half
B: Sabrina Fowler, 53rd minute