Bartlett's second-half surge sinks Hoffman Estates
It was a tale of two halves Saturday morning, and fortunately for the visiting Bartlett girls soccer team, the second half was all Hawks.
Mariela Alba and Carrigan Sablik brought the Hawks' alive, giving their teammates a much-needed shot in the arm to help stage a nice comeback in a 2-1 nonconference victory on a cold, windy Saturday at Hoffman Estates.
"We didn't really do anything very good in that first half," said Alba. "The overall effort was lacking, and we always seemed to be a step slow on everything. But coach (Ben) Beary reminded all of us the first half was behind us, and that we had 40 minutes to show how good we can be. And with a few adjustments, we did just that."
Beary's tactical decision to go with three up top certainly helped the cause, as it seemed to open things up almost immediately. Sablik drew her club even after some quick touches and ball movement allowed the sophomore to strike the 43rd-minute equalizer.
"The idea with going with three forwards was to stretch and pull their outside backs out wide, and the girls did a great job of recognizing the space and taking advantage of it to get those two quick goals, then pretty much control the run of the play for most of the second half," said Beary, whose clubs opens play in the Upstate Eight on Tuesday at home with South Elgin. "The wind was such a huge factor in that first half, but we just were not as sharp as Hoffman was, so we ended up being put under for most of those first 40 minutes and just defending far more than we wanted to."
Hoffman Estates (1-2-1) fresh off a 1-0 victory over Mid-Suburban West rival Schaumburg last week, appeared to take a big step forward in earning its second consecutive victory following an impressive opening half led by its backline standout Jessica Miller,and the attacking trio of Ale Alonso, Vanessa Bonilla and Natalie Nagrant.
"If you want to talk about our first half of play, there's a lot to talk about, but if it's about the second half, forget it," said Hoffman Estates coach Ralph Tooren. "We just fell into a shell and never came out of it."
The early signs were good for Hoffman Estates, as Bonilla tested Bartlett keeper Tessa Jatczak twice in the first quarter-hour. Freshman Molly Salerno finally broke through for the hosts at 23 minutes when she roared up the left side to beat Jatczak to a ball inside before whipping her well-aimed shot the other way and into the far right corner.
"We created a couple of good chances, but finishing has not been our strong suit the season yet, so when we fail to finish chances, then come out as flat as we did in that second half, it usually ends badly in this sport," said Tooren.
Bartlett (5-2-0) started to come into the match just after the Sablik strike. Three minutes afterward, Alba broke free of her mark after a long throw to slot under Francesca Van, who had little chance to react at the near post.
"After that second goal, you could just sense our confidence was on the rise, and it showed with how we moved and possessed the ball, and with everyone seeming to get involved in our attack," said a pleased Beary.