Bartlett not tied down again,
comeback beats Streamwood
Hawks swoop back into UEC title chase with 2-1 win
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD --- With Upstate Eight Conference ramifications on the line, Bartlett was able to exorcise a couple season-long demons while an old bugaboo continued to haunt Streamwood.
What was a hard-fought competitive battle reached the final quarter of regulation and had a “next-goal-wins” feel to it when the Sabres broke the 0-0 deadlock on Jose Ibarra’s sizzling shot with 17:05 left in regulation.
That deficit remained until Sean Cox became Bartlett’s superhero with two goals within the final 7:40 to lift the Hawks to a 2-1 victory.
The prospect of avoiding a loss when Cox made his first strike was positive enough that Bartlett’s bench may not have minded a potential seventh tie. But when he chalked up an encore tally to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match acclaim, the post-game elation was equal to a couple notable achievements.
It marked the first time this year the Hawks earned back-to-back victories. And depending on whose file cabinet holds the true answer, it was at least the first Bartlett win over their District U-46 neighbors within this decade. Streamwood won last year’s meeting 2-0, the 2017 match 1-0, while the 2016 and 2015 contests ended in draws.
In addition to improving to 6-3-6 overall, Bartlett’s 2-1-2 conference record makes them one of two schools with six points hoping to overtake current UEC one-two squads West Chicago (13 pts.) and Glenbard East (10 pts.). Bartlett owns ties against Glenbard East and fellow six-point unit South Elgin, with a home date against West Chicago for one its four remaining league matches.
Monday’s match was originally scheduled as a Bartlett home date, but the recent rains left the Hawks’ field unplayable which led to the location switch to Millennium Field. Of course Bartlett had shared that turf with Streamwood in prior seasons.
The Sabres dipped to 6-7-3 on the year, and their 2-2-1 UEC ledger would now require wins in its last four loop contests plus the right type of mathematical help.
Coach Matt Polovin is convinced his Sabres’ only need is not to lose heart.
“We just need a little more composure in and around the box,” Polovin said in regard to the Sabres’ season-long struggles to finish. “It’s as if our eyes get big. If we’ve got a good angle on the goalie, we don’t need to kill it, just make a good hard pass past the goalie.
“It’s not that I’m wondering what it takes to get chances, we create plenty of those,” Polovin noted. “But what has hurt us all season is finishing in the final third. The last game we scored four goals in under 16 minutes and tonight we can’t do more than one in however many chances. The other team gets a couple, and they manage to put them in.”
The majority of scoring threats in the opening half belonged to Streamwood and specifically Edwin Peralta. The senior had a solid strike from the right in the opening three minutes, but Bartlett goalie Jeremy Taylor made the save and did the same 15 minutes in when Peralta put a 36-yard direct kick on frame. Just under 17 minutes before halftime, Ibarra made a cross from the left side to Peralta streaking into the middle, but the shot sailed wide left.
Early in the second half, newly-called up freshman Hugo Marquez had a blast from the left, however Taylor stopped that as well.
With just under 26 minutes to go in regulation, Bartlett’s Giovanni Palid got to a loose ball with Streamwood goalie Jonathon Castillo off his line, but veteran defender Josh Taboada did a body block to keep the ball out of the net and maintain the scoreless deadlock.
While Polovin never misses a chance to insist Ibarra is the state’s best defender, the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State pick suddenly became an offensive contributor with 17:05 remaining. There was nothing but heat on his 34-yarder from the left wing that sailed under the crossbar for the center back’s first goal of the year. It’s the fifth career goal for the three-year varsity starter on defense.
“It was definitely a gamble, but I’ve hit quite a few in practice and seeing the opportunity I took it,” Ibarra explained. “It felt good off my foot and felt that much better once it was in the net.”
Just over three minutes later, Bartlett’s Mauricio Vigil launched one from 19 yards on the left wing and Castillo --- who was making his first varsity start --- dove to his right for the save.
On the counterattack, Streamwood’s Angel Diaz drilled a shot off the right post with 13 minutes remaining as the intensity plus back-and-forth action picked up. Kamil Jarzabek sent a cross only to have Castillo smother it before any Hawks attacker could get to the ball.
However Bartlett’s pressure paid off with 7:39 to go as Cesar Palomares fed Cox for a 17-yard strike from the right side.
“When I received the ball I turned and saw daylight, so I just took the opportunity,” Cox recalled.
Ibarra nearly put Streamwood ahead again with another gamble, but that blast with three minutes left caromed off the left post.
At the opposite end, Marco Zamora set up Cox for a 16-yarder from the right that ricocheted off the far left post and into the goal.
“I just had to hit it clean and get it in the net. That’s all you got time to think about,” Cox noted. “All season we’ve been more of a second half team, but it feels really good to help us get a win on the road, especially against a rival.”
That second finishe with 2:38 left doubled Cox’s season total having matched a previous two-goal performance early in the year against Plainfield North in the Best of the West Tournament in Naperville.
“We were finally aggressive on the attack,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said. “Mauricio had a lot of chances, Kamil was making some great runs, and Sean was obviously flying through. We started to make the right passes instead of just booting it. We had purpose behind them, so we were able to keep the ball and build an attack.”
In addition to Ibarra, the UEC is loaded with talented defenders and that elite group includes Bartlett’s Nico Gomez.
“It’s a big boost to get a win and pick up the points for the conference standing,” Gomez said. “What makes the victory more satisfying is it came on top of a hard-fought match.”
Revak added: “It was another situation where these boys played to the last minute. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort to pull out a win against the odds.
“All things considered, we were completely outplayed today. If you were to count possession today, I would guess 75 to 25 percent (for Streamwood). Our defense played their butts off as usual.”
Strictly in terms of time possessing the ball that was true, however the statistics were remarkably close. Streamwood owned a 14-10 advantage for overall attempts and an 8-6 edge in shots actually on goal. The Sabres also led in corner kicks 3-1.
“Once we got the lead, we relaxed too much,” Ibarra admitted.
Said Polovin in closing" “Jose was a maniac out there for us. On top of his defense, he scores and hits the pole. You can only hope the rest of the team would support him.
“We’re getting to the point of the season, close to regionals, where if we’re still hitting poles and missing good opportunities in the box, it’s going to be a quick postseason.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK Jonathon Castillo
D Brian Caldera
D Jose Ibarra
D Josh Taboada
D Fernando Mancera
M Aaron Taboada
M Joel Sandoval
M Michael Garcia
M Edwin Peralta
F Angel Diaz
F Alejandro Morales
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Zander Zamora
D Nico Gomez
D Hernan Garcia
D Ethan Sproule
M Edgar Leon
M Sean Cox
M Amine Medmoun
M Cesar Palomares
F Raj Parikh
F Kamil Jerzabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sean Cox, so. F, Bartlett
Referees: Dave Holbrook (center), Patrick Anelli, Bob Crumnine
Game summary
Bartlett 2, Streamwood 1
Streamwood 0 1 --- 1 (6-7-3 / DKC 2-2-1)
Bartlett 0 2 --- 2 (6-3-6 / DKC 2-1-2)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
S --- Ibarra 34-yard cracker from left wing (unassisted), 62:55 gone
B--- Cox 17-yarder from right side (Palomares assist), 72:20 gone
B --- Cox 15-yarder from right caromed off far left post and in (Zamora assist), 77:22 gone.
Shots
S 5 – 9 --- 14
B 3 – 7 --- 10
Shots on goal
S 2 – 6 --- 8
B 2 – 4 --- 6
Saves (goalie):
S (Castillo) 2 – 1 (J. Taboada 1) 2 --- 4
B (Taylor) 2 – 3 (defenders 2) 5 --- 7
Corner kicks
S 0 – 3 --- 3
B 1 – 0 --- 1
Offsides
S 0 – 0 --- 0
B 0 – 1 --- 1
comeback beats Streamwood
Hawks swoop back into UEC title chase with 2-1 win
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD --- With Upstate Eight Conference ramifications on the line, Bartlett was able to exorcise a couple season-long demons while an old bugaboo continued to haunt Streamwood.
What was a hard-fought competitive battle reached the final quarter of regulation and had a “next-goal-wins” feel to it when the Sabres broke the 0-0 deadlock on Jose Ibarra’s sizzling shot with 17:05 left in regulation.
That deficit remained until Sean Cox became Bartlett’s superhero with two goals within the final 7:40 to lift the Hawks to a 2-1 victory.
The prospect of avoiding a loss when Cox made his first strike was positive enough that Bartlett’s bench may not have minded a potential seventh tie. But when he chalked up an encore tally to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match acclaim, the post-game elation was equal to a couple notable achievements.
It marked the first time this year the Hawks earned back-to-back victories. And depending on whose file cabinet holds the true answer, it was at least the first Bartlett win over their District U-46 neighbors within this decade. Streamwood won last year’s meeting 2-0, the 2017 match 1-0, while the 2016 and 2015 contests ended in draws.
In addition to improving to 6-3-6 overall, Bartlett’s 2-1-2 conference record makes them one of two schools with six points hoping to overtake current UEC one-two squads West Chicago (13 pts.) and Glenbard East (10 pts.). Bartlett owns ties against Glenbard East and fellow six-point unit South Elgin, with a home date against West Chicago for one its four remaining league matches.
Monday’s match was originally scheduled as a Bartlett home date, but the recent rains left the Hawks’ field unplayable which led to the location switch to Millennium Field. Of course Bartlett had shared that turf with Streamwood in prior seasons.
The Sabres dipped to 6-7-3 on the year, and their 2-2-1 UEC ledger would now require wins in its last four loop contests plus the right type of mathematical help.
Coach Matt Polovin is convinced his Sabres’ only need is not to lose heart.
“We just need a little more composure in and around the box,” Polovin said in regard to the Sabres’ season-long struggles to finish. “It’s as if our eyes get big. If we’ve got a good angle on the goalie, we don’t need to kill it, just make a good hard pass past the goalie.
“It’s not that I’m wondering what it takes to get chances, we create plenty of those,” Polovin noted. “But what has hurt us all season is finishing in the final third. The last game we scored four goals in under 16 minutes and tonight we can’t do more than one in however many chances. The other team gets a couple, and they manage to put them in.”
The majority of scoring threats in the opening half belonged to Streamwood and specifically Edwin Peralta. The senior had a solid strike from the right in the opening three minutes, but Bartlett goalie Jeremy Taylor made the save and did the same 15 minutes in when Peralta put a 36-yard direct kick on frame. Just under 17 minutes before halftime, Ibarra made a cross from the left side to Peralta streaking into the middle, but the shot sailed wide left.
Early in the second half, newly-called up freshman Hugo Marquez had a blast from the left, however Taylor stopped that as well.
With just under 26 minutes to go in regulation, Bartlett’s Giovanni Palid got to a loose ball with Streamwood goalie Jonathon Castillo off his line, but veteran defender Josh Taboada did a body block to keep the ball out of the net and maintain the scoreless deadlock.
While Polovin never misses a chance to insist Ibarra is the state’s best defender, the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State pick suddenly became an offensive contributor with 17:05 remaining. There was nothing but heat on his 34-yarder from the left wing that sailed under the crossbar for the center back’s first goal of the year. It’s the fifth career goal for the three-year varsity starter on defense.
“It was definitely a gamble, but I’ve hit quite a few in practice and seeing the opportunity I took it,” Ibarra explained. “It felt good off my foot and felt that much better once it was in the net.”
Just over three minutes later, Bartlett’s Mauricio Vigil launched one from 19 yards on the left wing and Castillo --- who was making his first varsity start --- dove to his right for the save.
On the counterattack, Streamwood’s Angel Diaz drilled a shot off the right post with 13 minutes remaining as the intensity plus back-and-forth action picked up. Kamil Jarzabek sent a cross only to have Castillo smother it before any Hawks attacker could get to the ball.
However Bartlett’s pressure paid off with 7:39 to go as Cesar Palomares fed Cox for a 17-yard strike from the right side.
“When I received the ball I turned and saw daylight, so I just took the opportunity,” Cox recalled.
Ibarra nearly put Streamwood ahead again with another gamble, but that blast with three minutes left caromed off the left post.
At the opposite end, Marco Zamora set up Cox for a 16-yarder from the right that ricocheted off the far left post and into the goal.
“I just had to hit it clean and get it in the net. That’s all you got time to think about,” Cox noted. “All season we’ve been more of a second half team, but it feels really good to help us get a win on the road, especially against a rival.”
That second finishe with 2:38 left doubled Cox’s season total having matched a previous two-goal performance early in the year against Plainfield North in the Best of the West Tournament in Naperville.
“We were finally aggressive on the attack,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said. “Mauricio had a lot of chances, Kamil was making some great runs, and Sean was obviously flying through. We started to make the right passes instead of just booting it. We had purpose behind them, so we were able to keep the ball and build an attack.”
In addition to Ibarra, the UEC is loaded with talented defenders and that elite group includes Bartlett’s Nico Gomez.
“It’s a big boost to get a win and pick up the points for the conference standing,” Gomez said. “What makes the victory more satisfying is it came on top of a hard-fought match.”
Revak added: “It was another situation where these boys played to the last minute. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort to pull out a win against the odds.
“All things considered, we were completely outplayed today. If you were to count possession today, I would guess 75 to 25 percent (for Streamwood). Our defense played their butts off as usual.”
Strictly in terms of time possessing the ball that was true, however the statistics were remarkably close. Streamwood owned a 14-10 advantage for overall attempts and an 8-6 edge in shots actually on goal. The Sabres also led in corner kicks 3-1.
“Once we got the lead, we relaxed too much,” Ibarra admitted.
Said Polovin in closing" “Jose was a maniac out there for us. On top of his defense, he scores and hits the pole. You can only hope the rest of the team would support him.
“We’re getting to the point of the season, close to regionals, where if we’re still hitting poles and missing good opportunities in the box, it’s going to be a quick postseason.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK Jonathon Castillo
D Brian Caldera
D Jose Ibarra
D Josh Taboada
D Fernando Mancera
M Aaron Taboada
M Joel Sandoval
M Michael Garcia
M Edwin Peralta
F Angel Diaz
F Alejandro Morales
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Zander Zamora
D Nico Gomez
D Hernan Garcia
D Ethan Sproule
M Edgar Leon
M Sean Cox
M Amine Medmoun
M Cesar Palomares
F Raj Parikh
F Kamil Jerzabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sean Cox, so. F, Bartlett
Referees: Dave Holbrook (center), Patrick Anelli, Bob Crumnine
Game summary
Bartlett 2, Streamwood 1
Streamwood 0 1 --- 1 (6-7-3 / DKC 2-2-1)
Bartlett 0 2 --- 2 (6-3-6 / DKC 2-1-2)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
S --- Ibarra 34-yard cracker from left wing (unassisted), 62:55 gone
B--- Cox 17-yarder from right side (Palomares assist), 72:20 gone
B --- Cox 15-yarder from right caromed off far left post and in (Zamora assist), 77:22 gone.
Shots
S 5 – 9 --- 14
B 3 – 7 --- 10
Shots on goal
S 2 – 6 --- 8
B 2 – 4 --- 6
Saves (goalie):
S (Castillo) 2 – 1 (J. Taboada 1) 2 --- 4
B (Taylor) 2 – 3 (defenders 2) 5 --- 7
Corner kicks
S 0 – 3 --- 3
B 1 – 0 --- 1
Offsides
S 0 – 0 --- 0
B 0 – 1 --- 1