Bartlett stays in groove, edges Wheaton N.
Hawks record 4th victory in last 6 games; Falcons rest starters
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD --- Nonconference matches this time of the season are viewed through the lens of preparing for the IHSA postseason.
Wheaton North, an honorable mention team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got major minutes of experience for much of its lineup while a few starters got some extra rest.
For Bartlett, Saturday’s 1-0 triumph at Millennium Field continues to add to a turnaround that has the Hawks (5-11-3) soaring with enthusiasm. In contrast to having only a pair of wins in the first 12 matches of the season, Bartlett is now 4-2-1 for its last seven outings.
A major aspect of the Hawks improvement is evidenced on defense; for the first eight matches of the year Bartlett yielded 22 goals. In the last 11, only 10 have been allowed and Saturday’s shutout marks the third clean-sheet in that span for Hawk keeper Jeremy Taylor, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“The main reason for the better results is that the defense has gotten better,” Bartlett co-head coach Victor Marquez said.
“It is nice to see our defenders minimize mistakes, they’re playing safer and smarter plus covering for each other,” added fellow co-head coach Vince Revak. “While we limited North’s opportunities, when they did get a chance Jeremy was there.
“At the beginning of the year he was a little hesitant to come out and command his box. Now his confidence is increasing with each save, and he’s starting to realize how capable he is,” Revak added.
After a truly uneventful first half, there was 23:46 left in regulation when a potential North goal off a cross was averted when Taylor punched the ball out wide. The Falcons immediately tried a putback but the Bartlett junior goalie made the save.
Having just been elevated to the varsity unit, Wheaton North freshman Sam Wakeman took over in goal at halftime. But unlike starter Ray Min, who was not required to make any saves, Wakeman was doing an admirable job until there was 15:30 remaining. He was caught stepping out of the box on a punt resulting in a direct fee kick for Bartlett.
Senior Carlos Alfaro put a wicked spinning curve on the 20-yarder that sailed into the left side of the cage.
“I try to go by what my teammates are telling me. The primary option is always to put it where a teammate can use it as a set-up,” Alfaro explained. “In this instance I also heard look if he’s cheating toward one side. It felt good right off my foot.
“Any time you score it’s a great feeling, but getting a game-winner makes it nicer. Plus I think coming off the West Aurora tie, it’s especially nice to keep the momentum going,” Alfaro said.
Three days before, Bartlett pulled off a 1-1 draw versus West Aurora that shocked most Upstate Eight Conference followers. The seventh-ranked Blackhawks were unbeaten in the loop at the time. Earlier on Saturday, West Aurora lost a 1-0 home match to no. 9 Elgin, which is now atop the UEC.
“It’s always important to find ways to score, and that includes making the most of direct kicks,” Marquez said. “Coming in, a 1-0 or 2-0 outcome was most likely, so that meant dead ball opportunities were that much more important. Not too many of them curve as well as the one Carlos kicked.”
After that, Wheaton North (9-7-1) ramped up its attack in quest of an equalizer. In particular, senior Joe Gaither had solid tries from 16 and 18 yards on the right side with 13:09 and 5:17 left, respectively. The Falcons stayed aggressive and a Taylor block ricocheted to the left; Jack Tegart had his cannon volley narrowly miss the right post.
With just over a minute left, Leo DeLaTorre’s header was blocked by Taylor and a follow-up try sailed high.
“Number one we got out of the match healthy,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “For a freshman keeper I saw some nice things from him as a back-up. Our entire bench played a whole bunch of minutes and that allowed us to rest so many starters.”
Despite seeing limited duty, senior tri-captain Jack Mancuso shared that perspective.
“So many players got extended experience today. And I’d say the skill level from the bench to the starters looked pretty good.”
For Wheaton North, the additional benefit was preparing for the challenge of hosting Batavia on Tuesday with the potential of capturing the inaugural DuKane Conference crown. The Falcons enter the match atop the league standings at 4-1-1. However, St. Charles East , which is 4-2-0, hosts Lake Park that same night. Those Lancers go into that contest at 3-1-1 with visits to East and Wheaton Warrenville South still remaining.
A winning record for UEC play is still possible for Bartlett, which takes a 2-3-2 loop mark into a Monday visit to West Chicago followed by a Wednesday home date with East Aurora.
“Another thing about today’s match against North that we’re very pleased with is the effort off by the guys off the bench,” Revak said. “They’re also playing more like a team which makes it harder for us to decide a starting line-up and who gets minutes.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Ray Min
D Kyle Schauer
D Jack Tegart
D Sunday Moo
D Tyler Larsen
M Conner Bambule
M Ajay Patel
M Ethan Shikany
F Alex Beausoleil
F Jack Morrissey
F Leo DeLaTorre
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Austin Cichon
D Zander Zamora
D Sebastian Gonzalez
D Nico Gomez
M Hernan Garcia
M Carlos Alfaro
M Amine Medmoun
M Anthony Garcia
M Cesar Palomares
F Kamil Jarzabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jeremy Taylor, jr., GK, Bartlett
Referees: Alex Bargamian, Manou Chahmirzadi, Victor Herrera
Game summary
Bartlett 1, Wheaton North 0
Wheaton North 0 0 --- 0 (9-7-1)
Bartlett 0 1 --- 1 (5-11-3)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
B – Alfaro 20-yard direct free kick into left side (unassisted), 64:30 gone
Shots
WN 3 – 6 --- 9
B 3 – 3 --- 6
Shots on goal
WN 0 – 5 --- 5
B 0 – 2 --- 2
Saves (GK)
WN (Min, 40 min.) 0 – (Wakeman, 40 min.) 1 --- 1
B (Taylor, 80 min.) 0 – 5 --- 5
Corner kicks
WN 0 – 2 --- 2
B 0 – 4 --- 4
Offsides
WN 0 – 2 --- 2
B 1 – 1 --- 2
Hawks record 4th victory in last 6 games; Falcons rest starters
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD --- Nonconference matches this time of the season are viewed through the lens of preparing for the IHSA postseason.
Wheaton North, an honorable mention team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, got major minutes of experience for much of its lineup while a few starters got some extra rest.
For Bartlett, Saturday’s 1-0 triumph at Millennium Field continues to add to a turnaround that has the Hawks (5-11-3) soaring with enthusiasm. In contrast to having only a pair of wins in the first 12 matches of the season, Bartlett is now 4-2-1 for its last seven outings.
A major aspect of the Hawks improvement is evidenced on defense; for the first eight matches of the year Bartlett yielded 22 goals. In the last 11, only 10 have been allowed and Saturday’s shutout marks the third clean-sheet in that span for Hawk keeper Jeremy Taylor, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“The main reason for the better results is that the defense has gotten better,” Bartlett co-head coach Victor Marquez said.
“It is nice to see our defenders minimize mistakes, they’re playing safer and smarter plus covering for each other,” added fellow co-head coach Vince Revak. “While we limited North’s opportunities, when they did get a chance Jeremy was there.
“At the beginning of the year he was a little hesitant to come out and command his box. Now his confidence is increasing with each save, and he’s starting to realize how capable he is,” Revak added.
After a truly uneventful first half, there was 23:46 left in regulation when a potential North goal off a cross was averted when Taylor punched the ball out wide. The Falcons immediately tried a putback but the Bartlett junior goalie made the save.
Having just been elevated to the varsity unit, Wheaton North freshman Sam Wakeman took over in goal at halftime. But unlike starter Ray Min, who was not required to make any saves, Wakeman was doing an admirable job until there was 15:30 remaining. He was caught stepping out of the box on a punt resulting in a direct fee kick for Bartlett.
Senior Carlos Alfaro put a wicked spinning curve on the 20-yarder that sailed into the left side of the cage.
“I try to go by what my teammates are telling me. The primary option is always to put it where a teammate can use it as a set-up,” Alfaro explained. “In this instance I also heard look if he’s cheating toward one side. It felt good right off my foot.
“Any time you score it’s a great feeling, but getting a game-winner makes it nicer. Plus I think coming off the West Aurora tie, it’s especially nice to keep the momentum going,” Alfaro said.
Three days before, Bartlett pulled off a 1-1 draw versus West Aurora that shocked most Upstate Eight Conference followers. The seventh-ranked Blackhawks were unbeaten in the loop at the time. Earlier on Saturday, West Aurora lost a 1-0 home match to no. 9 Elgin, which is now atop the UEC.
“It’s always important to find ways to score, and that includes making the most of direct kicks,” Marquez said. “Coming in, a 1-0 or 2-0 outcome was most likely, so that meant dead ball opportunities were that much more important. Not too many of them curve as well as the one Carlos kicked.”
After that, Wheaton North (9-7-1) ramped up its attack in quest of an equalizer. In particular, senior Joe Gaither had solid tries from 16 and 18 yards on the right side with 13:09 and 5:17 left, respectively. The Falcons stayed aggressive and a Taylor block ricocheted to the left; Jack Tegart had his cannon volley narrowly miss the right post.
With just over a minute left, Leo DeLaTorre’s header was blocked by Taylor and a follow-up try sailed high.
“Number one we got out of the match healthy,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “For a freshman keeper I saw some nice things from him as a back-up. Our entire bench played a whole bunch of minutes and that allowed us to rest so many starters.”
Despite seeing limited duty, senior tri-captain Jack Mancuso shared that perspective.
“So many players got extended experience today. And I’d say the skill level from the bench to the starters looked pretty good.”
For Wheaton North, the additional benefit was preparing for the challenge of hosting Batavia on Tuesday with the potential of capturing the inaugural DuKane Conference crown. The Falcons enter the match atop the league standings at 4-1-1. However, St. Charles East , which is 4-2-0, hosts Lake Park that same night. Those Lancers go into that contest at 3-1-1 with visits to East and Wheaton Warrenville South still remaining.
A winning record for UEC play is still possible for Bartlett, which takes a 2-3-2 loop mark into a Monday visit to West Chicago followed by a Wednesday home date with East Aurora.
“Another thing about today’s match against North that we’re very pleased with is the effort off by the guys off the bench,” Revak said. “They’re also playing more like a team which makes it harder for us to decide a starting line-up and who gets minutes.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Ray Min
D Kyle Schauer
D Jack Tegart
D Sunday Moo
D Tyler Larsen
M Conner Bambule
M Ajay Patel
M Ethan Shikany
F Alex Beausoleil
F Jack Morrissey
F Leo DeLaTorre
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Austin Cichon
D Zander Zamora
D Sebastian Gonzalez
D Nico Gomez
M Hernan Garcia
M Carlos Alfaro
M Amine Medmoun
M Anthony Garcia
M Cesar Palomares
F Kamil Jarzabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jeremy Taylor, jr., GK, Bartlett
Referees: Alex Bargamian, Manou Chahmirzadi, Victor Herrera
Game summary
Bartlett 1, Wheaton North 0
Wheaton North 0 0 --- 0 (9-7-1)
Bartlett 0 1 --- 1 (5-11-3)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
B – Alfaro 20-yard direct free kick into left side (unassisted), 64:30 gone
Shots
WN 3 – 6 --- 9
B 3 – 3 --- 6
Shots on goal
WN 0 – 5 --- 5
B 0 – 2 --- 2
Saves (GK)
WN (Min, 40 min.) 0 – (Wakeman, 40 min.) 1 --- 1
B (Taylor, 80 min.) 0 – 5 --- 5
Corner kicks
WN 0 – 2 --- 2
B 0 – 4 --- 4
Offsides
WN 0 – 2 --- 2
B 1 – 1 --- 2