Boys soccer: Bartlett revved up for state tournament

Class 3A state semifinal

Bartlett (17-7-2) vs. Quincy (19-4-2) When/Where: Friday at 7 p.m. at Hoffman Estates High School

Playoff history: Bartlett won its own regional by defeating West Chicago and St. Charles North by 1-0 scores. The Hawks defeated Glenbard North and Wheaton Academy by 2-1 scores in sectionals then defeated McHenry 1-0 at the Barrington supersectional. Three of their 5 postseason games have needed at least 100 minutes with one ending in PKs. The Blue Devils edged Alton 3-1 and Collinsville 1-0 (4-3 in PKs) in their own regional then defeated Edwardsville 1-0 and Normal Community, last year's second place team at state, 3-0 to win the Collinsville sectional. Quincy added a 3-1 win over Andrew in Tuesday's supersectional.

Outlook: One team will see its 6-game winning streak snap while the other will extend theirs to 7 and seek their first state championship. The last time the Blue Devils punched their state ticket was 1995. Bartlett, which opened its doors in 1997, embarks on its first appearance. The Hawks' 1-0 win over McHenry was just the second time this postseason a Hawks game was won in regulation, a win that continued their historical postseason run in thrilling fashion.

"The parents are always telling me, 'stop making us grind it out like that,' " Hawks' coach Vince Di Nuzzo said, lightheartedly. "But that's the kind of team we are. We do find early goals every once in a while but I feel like we play better with pressure, under high pressure situations where we have to win. We find ways to win."

That has a lot to do with winger Tim Riordan, who's been on a mission scoring 4 goals in the postseason to add to his total of 13 this season. None were more dramatic than his game-winner against McHenry with 2 minutes left on the clock as he's had a good case of being in the right position at the right time this year. TJ Ivkovich (10 goals) and Ryan Stratton (9 goals) round out Bartlett's scoring up top while senior midfielder Oliver Saile has 7 goals and a team-leading 12 assists. Saile and Venici Leone relieve pressure and settle things in the midfield along with outside mid AJ Santori and Igor Zwada. The back four of Josh Merkel, Joey Mirsky, Rudy Reyes and Josh White help protect Jake Hasenstein (151 saves), whose 1.04 goals allowed average has helped him allow just 27 goals in 26 games and post 9 shutouts. Bartlett has also allowed 3 goals in its last 6 games and 8 goals in 9 games. A now healthy Bartlett, which didn't really celebrate its supersectional win, turns its attention to Hoffman Estates, which provides nifty travel plans up Route 59 to Higgins Road. But the Hawks won't try to change anything up nor take the Blue Devils lightly.

"Quincy's here for a reason. There's no bad teams left. After you get down to the Sweet Sixteen, you're not going to find teams that have squeaked by or don't deserve to be here. They deserve to be here," said Di Nuzzo, who was a part of Streamwood's state run last year. "Everybody's really excited about the opportunity in front of them but my boys are still hungry. They want more. We're not complacent. We're not OK with just making it to state. I know they're going to be ready to go on Friday."

The Blue Devils have reached the state quarterfinals five times and have owned the Western Big 6 Conference with 24 titles in the last 29 years, with a record of 49-4-2 the past 11 seasons. This year is no different, as Quincy hammered out three-straight postseason shutouts at one point. The Blue Devils are ranked in the Top 5 on TopDrawerSoccer.com behind Libertyville and Morton, respectively. Bartlett will have to stop all-state forward Riley Roth, Quincy's dynamic scorer with 20 goals and 3 assists on the season while defensemen Bradyn Nokes (14 goals, 4 assists) and forward Drew Chisholm (11 goals, 6 assists) also add to Quincy's pop.

"My back four has the ability to shut down any forward in the state, and they proved that against (Northwestern bound Ty Seager) Wheaton Academy," Di Nuzzo said. "A 20-goal scorer is duly-noted but we'll worry about ourselves and be the best Bartlett team we can be."

Quincy midfielder J.D. Sohn is a main distributor along with defender Chris Clay, who both have 15 assists. It's of note that Sohn did sit out a 1-0 victory against Edwardsville following up his second yellow card in the game against Collinsville. He also earned a yellow in the supersectional win over Andrew. Keeper Eric Lubbert has allowed similar numbers to Hasenstein with a 1.04 goals allowed average on 81 saves with 26 goals allowed in 25 games.

But a real stark contrast lies in coaching, as Blue Devils coach Matt Longo has been at it for 22 years with a record of 371-97-51 while Di Nuzzo serves in his rookie campaign.

"I'm a 25-year-old, just graduated college kid that's taken over a program that hasn't won a sectional and now I'm taking them to state. It doesn't add up," said Di Nuzzo, a former Bartlett goalie. "But what a couple people don't know is that I have some chemistry with these players, all of them knew me going in. I'm just trying to continue what (former Hawks' coach) Ben Beary did. He did a great job with this program. I've put my own spin on things but they've bought into what I've said and it's unbelievable. I know how many coaches in my conference have been going at this for a very very long time and never gotten to where I have in my first year. So I'm not going to take it for granted."

Advancement: The Bartlett-Quincy winner plays in Saturday's 7 p.m. championship game vs. the winner of Friday's 5 p.m. semifinal between Morton (26-2) and Libertyville (17-3-1). The losers play in Saturday's 5 p.m. third-place game.