Boys soccer: Riordan's late goal sends Bartlett to state
Maybe someday, they'll refer to it as "The Shot."
That's because it propelled the Bartlett boys soccer team's dream season further into uncharted waters.
The Hawks defeated McHenry 1-0 in the Class 3A Barrington supersectional Tuesday, thanks to senior striker Tim Riordan's dramatic blast into the right corner of the net in the 78th minute, just past the outstretched hands of Warriors' goalkeeper Jake King.
The Hawks, led by 2008 graduate Vince DiNuzzo, are on their way to the state semifinals for the first time in program history, and a 7 p.m. Friday date with Quincy, which defeated Andrew 3-1 Tuesday.
"T.J. (Ivkovich) played the ball in, and I was able to run off him and get a lucky bounce off his foot and I was able to spin free and put it in the back corner of the net," Riordan said, his jubilant teammates and classmates swarming nearby. "Vince was saying we needed to get shots on goal, and I was just trying to get a shot on goal."
Riordan's 12th tally of the season allowed Bartlett to win the match in regulation, and that was probably a good thing. McHenry, which finished 19-3-2, beat Jacobs and Cary-Grove in shootouts to advance to the supersectional for the first time, so the odds of winning a shootout Tuesday was decidedly with the Warriors, despite the fact Bartlett also won its sectional title match over Wheaton Academy in a shootout.
"We know going into overtime it gets pretty scary against a good team like McHenry," Riordan said. "We know they are good at PKs, so it was pretty nerve-wracking, but once we were able to get that goal, it just lifted off the pressure a lot and we were able to close out the final two minutes."
True, Bartlett had to hold off a desperate rally attempt by McHenry in those last 120 seconds, but senior goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein sealed the victory by blocking away with his fists a long free kick goal attempt by junior midfielder James Mulhall with 4 seconds left. Mulhall had 26 goals and 10 assists this season.
"I've been in that position before this season, so I just took it like I had those times," said Hasenstein, who finished with 5 saves. "As the ball soared through the air I see it's coming over the defensive line and their offensive line and I know it's my ball. I've got to get it out, and that's what I did."
All that was left was the final buzzer, and pandemonium.
"We're not done," insisted DiNuzzo. "I have a team. I have a bunch of players with big hearts and it shows every time they step on the field. Every match they've been competitive in throughout the season, and they kind of stayed under the radar for awhile, and now they are finally reaching the goals they set in beginning of the year. I couldn't be happier for them."
Perhaps lost in the drama was the fact that Bartlett's back defensive line of seniors Bryan Recino, Josh Merkel and Joey Mirsky, and junior Jacob White, was terrific, limiting McHenry to just 8 total shots and no real scoring attempts.
Conversely, Bartlett spent most of the second half knocking at the scoring door, peppering King with 6 shots. Senior midfielder Oliver Saile got close in the 68th minute, blasting a shot from the far right sideline that King went horizontal to grab. In the 73rd, Riordan fired a shot just wide right of the goal, with King recording a diving save, one of 5 on the night.
But 5 minutes later, Riordan was just a little bit better.
"We told him to focus on the goalkeeper's left side today," DiNuzzo said. "In the first half, he had a sitting opportunity, and he went to the goalkeeper's right and he made a nice save. This time he went to the left and scored the winning goal. It's unbelievable.
"This is the first time we've gone this far," he said. "We've won two regional titles in our history. Every reporter I talked to before the season, I told them, 'I have 15 seniors and this is a special group.' "
Most of those 15 seniors have played together since they were 8 or 9 years old. Keep in mind, they lost the regional play-in game last season, so there was plenty in the way of redemption.
"We just couldn't wait until our senior year, because we knew we'd have a phenomenal year," Riordan said. "I'm just happy we got to prove it. We accomplished our goal. We're not done, but it's really exciting."
"They were relentless, and we hung in there, but they provided a lot of dangerous attacks," said McHenry coach Tony Caruso. "They probably earned the win on us, and that's OK, because they're a solid team."