Boys soccer: St. Charles East blanks Bartlett

When your teams have suffered just 8 losses over the past 3 years, things could begin to get a bit uneasy after a 1-3-1 start to the season.

St. Charles East boys soccer coach Paul Jennison headed into the week wanting to find out a few things from his inexperienced squad.

The results were favorable.

Two days after recording a 3-0 victory over Larkin, the Saints (3-3-1) climbed back to the .500 mark with a 1-0 nonconference triumph over Bartlett Thursday afternoon at Millennium Field in Streamwood.

"I thought the last two games we've really elevated our performance," said Jennison. "We got to have a reflection of ourselves after the New Trier tournament (where the Saints finished 0-2-1). We've answered a couple of questions this week.

"We've demanded more work behind the ball and we've demanded more accuracy and pride in our passing."

That pride showed during the 26th minute when junior midfielder Chris Edgerton pinpointed a pass to senior Mitch Dorsey, who sent a right-footed blast into the upper corner of the net for a 1-0 Saints' lead.

"I saw him (Edgerton) open and he played a beautiful pass and luckily I got it past the keeper," said Dorsey, "I was just in the flow of the game."

After losing 19 seniors from a team that finished 15-3-2 last season, the Saints entered the 2015 campaign with some unanswered questions.

"The last couple of years we've very much known what we were working with," said Jennison. "This year, we've been trying to find the formulas - finding the lads that want to step up."

St. Charles East enjoyed its share of ball control against the Hawks (4-3), peppering goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein (15 saves) with 32 shot attempts.

"I'm really happy for our team because we've had a rough start the last few weeks, especially in that tournament where we didn't win a game," said Dorsey. "I think it's great that we've turned it around and have won two in a row.

"Even though it was 1-0, we played and possessed it (the ball) really well."

The added distractions of Homecoming week failed to fluster the Saints.

"For them to keep the concentration during Homecoming week - two games and two shutouts - I'm very proud of them for that," said Jennison.

Saints junior keeper Steven Owens made 4 saves while notching his second straight shutout.

Bartlett wasted a golden scoring opportunity midway through second half when Tim Riordan sent a crossing past to a teammate who fanned on an open net.

"At practice, we really focused on finishing but I guess today it wasn't here," said Hawks' senior forward/midfielder Venici Leone. "I didn't think we played our best game. We're a way better team than we showed.

"I also think we need to practice on our fitness more because we were tired out there."