Bartlett takes title of its own tournament with a 1-0 win over Glenbard North

By Gary Larsen

After the numerous shots Bartlett took on and off net in Saturday’s game against Glenbard North during the run of play, it was a free kick off the foot of Sam Barone that finally did the trick.

It took 53 minutes of solid attacking pressure before Barone’s goal ultimately gave Bartlett a 1-0 win and the title trophy of this year’s Bartlett Invite.

Possession-oriented soccer teams love to move the ball around the pitch until they find an opening in the defense, but sometimes a game is decided by quick thinking on a restart alone.

“They weren’t paying attention so I just kicked it,” Barone said of her free kick, taken from 20 yards out on the right side. Barone’s kick flew inside the far post, stopping the growing frustration that teams can feel when they’re firing on net to no avail.

Nicki Noreen and Sam Fairbanks managed to send a few hard-hit balls on net through 20 minutes, but Glenbard East’s goalkeeper was on the spot to stop them. Trisha Donlon also hammered a shot on net from 14 yards out in the 28th minute, but was turned away.

Donlon sent a hard one-hopper in on net in the 52nd minute before Barone finally broke the ice.

“We had really good opportunities. Unfortunately we just couldn’t put them away,” Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said. “Their keeper did a really good job and we just couldn’t find the back of the net.

But I’m happy with the shots we took – the amount of shots, the quality of shots – we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Bartlett improved to 14-7 with Saturday’s win, and the Hawks are currently 5-5 in Upstate Eight Conference play with only UEC foe Elgin left on their regular-season schedule.

Four of the Hawks’ seven losses have come to some of the state’s perennial top teams in Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley, St. Charles North, St. Charles East – all conference rivals.

The Hawks have won six of their last seven games, after struggling through some growing pains during a 1-4 stretch prior to their recent win streak.

“We were having some conflicts with each on and off the field, but we’ve kind of worked that out,” Barone said.

“You have to play like you’re a family,” Hawks senior Erin Zaideman said.

Sophomore Natalia Grodzki got the starting nod in net on Saturday, and the she handled every rare attacking occurrence that Glenbard North managed to muster.

“Natalia has an ever temperament. She doesn’t express nervousness very often, and she just goes in there and does what she needs to do,” Thomas said. “She’s doing a really good job.”

With Rachel Irwin at stopper, Lisa Palmer sweeping, and Ashley Johnson and Jessica Cosentino on the outside, the Hawks have posted 9 shutouts and given up 19 goals in 21 games with Zaideman and Grodzki taking turns in net.

“It might sound weird but we can pretty much read each others’ minds,” Irwin said. “We know where we’re going, and even if one person goes out and another comes in, we’re still talking out there.”

Thomas is satisfied with the defensive crew that will head into the postseason.

“Defensively we’ve had a pretty good season and every game they get better and better,” Thomas said. “We’ve made a lot of switches in back and they’ve handled it well.”

Eighth-seeded Bartlett will square off with No. 9 Batavia in a Class 3A regional opener and Thomas hopes the Hawks bring their finishing legs.

“That’s always bee one of our biggest issues. Like today, we had plenty of opportunities but just couldn’t finish,” Thomas said. “But I’m pleased with our quantity of shots.”

“Batavia’s a good team so we have some work to do. We have some little things to sort out, and nothing we can’t fix.”