Young Hawks flying higher with win over Jacobs
By Gary Larsen

The youngsters posted a big win for Bartlett on Wednesday.

With a lineup devoid of seniors, the Hawks scored an early goal and then held off Jacobs’ pressure thanks to a feisty backline and a solid game from their lone junior, goalkeeper Amanda Lozada.

“Amanda made some phenomenal saves today. She came up big,” Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said. “It’s nice to have her back there and she has made some clutch saves the last couple games for us.”

The lone tally of the day came nine minutes in, when Bartlett freshman Kaitlin Brohan fired a free kick from beyond the 18 past Jacobs’ wall of defenders

“Kaitlin sent it in and I actually thought she was going to hit it in,” Bartlett freshman Junior Alba said. “But just in case there was a rebound I kept running in and I was able to (finish).”

With a field full of freshmen and sophomores, Bartlett improved to 6-4 on the year with the win.

“The defense was tough and Amanda played really well today,” Alba said. “We’ve been good about talking to each other and that’s been very important to make sure everyone’s in their place. Our passes and the way we’re communicating have gotten better, too. We weren’t used to playing together at the beginning of the year but we’re really getting to know each other.”

Jacobs (1-3) had the lion’s share of pressure and shots in the game, to be sure. After Alba scored, the Golden Eagles spent much of the rest of the game applying pressure to the Hawks’ backline.

But Lozada turned away the handful of quality strikes Jacobs put on frame, and the Golden Eagles would have liked to see their pressure translate into a few more scoring chances.

“We had many opportunities,” Grady said. “I think we’re playing tough and now it’s just the aspect of finishing when we have the opportunity. I feel like we rush it a little bit sometimes.

“We’re getting used to each other and playing better as a team. Our first game this year was hard because it was a whole new team. We (graduated) eleven people from last year. But since then we’re talking better and learning about each other on the field, and who likes to make which runs. So we’re getting there.”

Lozada sprawled to the ground to stop a shot by Jacobs’ Kylie Dennison at the far post, set up by a Margaret Rivera corner kick at 29 minutes, and Lozada was on the spot to handle a hard-hit shot at 63 minutes taken by Payton Berg.

“I thought we played a nice game on the whole, and their goalie played a heck of a game,” Jacobs coach A.J. Cappello said. “We had three or four nice chances but she did a heck of a job.

“We just have to work on a bit of composure in the final third. I thought we did a nice job in back and through the midfield, got some balls to the endline, but we just weren’t sharp enough in our final couple touches.”

Cappello applauded the day’s work put in by his side despite the loss.

“I thought Kelly (Grady) played a wonderful game. She’s all over the place and she’s fearless,” Cappello said. “Bailey Adams came in off the bench and played well and I thought Kylie (Dennison) played a good game, kept her head down and was assertive. I liked about 90 percent of the game we played. Aside from one breakdown we didn’t give up many sniffs on goal and played a nice physical game, so I’m pleased.”

Physical play has been an acclimation point for a Bartlett team that doesn’t have a lot of size in addition to being young. But the Hawks defended set pieces well throughout the contest.

“Poor Kaitlin (Brohan),” Thomas joked. “She’s our biggest player so she’s stuck with whatever height they have on those set pieces.

“We did very well defensively. We stuck with them. Three of our five defenders are returning so we do have some experience back there, so until we can sort of find our groove offensively, we need to make sure that we step up defensively and don’t give up any unnecessary goals.”

Defenders Alba, Jamie Kenna,Toria Tomasek, and Shannon Brohan all put in a full day on Wednesday.

The Hawks also had a late spurt of offensive pressure that began in the game’s 70th minute, with Alba sending in a dangerous freekick handled by Jacobs keeper Ellie Samin, who also fielded a hot shot off the foot of Brohan at 73 minutes.

“Offensively we were able to get it up out of pressure and give our back five a little bit of a break, which they needed,” Thomas said.

“I thought Josie (Dombrowski) and Lindsay (Rockensock) played really well today, Amanda came up big, Toria (Tomasek) came up big, and I thought Shelly (Lyjak) and Kaitlin (Brohan) did a good job in the middle. I think as a team, it’s finally starting to come together.”

Jacobs senior Rivera expressed optimism for an Eagles team that has struggled for wins at the season’s outset.

“Our defensive shape has to get better and we have to finish, but we have a lot of good players,” Rivera said. “We’ll be fine. We had chances to score today and we’re all getting used to each other.”

Jacobs hosts Grayslake North Thursday and then squares off with Lyons Township in opening-round action of this year’s Pepsi Showdown on Saturday, at Olympic Park in Schaumburg.

Bartlett plays at Hoffman Estates Saturday before hosting conference rival Larkin on Monday.