Bartlett blanks Streamwood 4-0

It took the Bartlett girls soccer team little more than a minute to score its first of four goals in a 4-0 victory over visiting Streamwood in an Upstate Eight Conference matchup at Millennium Field Thursday night.

Bartlett midfielder Fran Abate managed to get a shot off 25 seconds into the game that was deflected by Sabres keeper Pearl Patel. But Abate got a second chance shortly after and didn't let the opportunity slip away, putting the Hawks (11-4) on the board at the 38:44 mark and never looking back.

"I could tell that they were really spaced out, and there was a lot of open area in the middle," Abate said of the game's first goal.

The Hawks scored two more times in the first half, including a corner kick from Abate that freshman Lisa Palmer headed into the net. Also adding goals for Bartlett were sophomore Trisha Donlon and senior Luisa Desario.

Streamwood (2-10-3) got off only two shots on goal against the swarming Bartlett defense. On the other side of the ball, though, Bartlett coach Heather Thomas would still like to see some improvement.

"A win is a win and we'll take it any way we can get it," Thomas said. "But offensively I think there were some things we could have done better. We don't body up as well as I think we could and should.

"We're just not as physical as we need to be. When we play strong teams, especially with regionals coming soon, we need to be a little more physical and body up a little better."

Sabres' coach Matt Polovin didn't have his team make any adjustments in the second half, but the club seemed to respond on its own. Streamwood cut Bartlett's shots in half and gave up just one second half goal.

"They're a nice team," Polovin said of Bartlett. "They move the ball around quickly, and we kept up as best as we could. Our team played well and didn't give up at all which is good to see."