Evans notches hat trick in Bartlett's win over Jacobs
The Bartlett girls soccer team got their season off on the right foot on Thursday night.
More precisely, it was the right foot of sophomore Tabitha Evans, who recorded a hat trick, that helped lead the Hawks to a 7-1 season-opening win over visiting Jacobs at Millennium Field in Streamwood.
Evans picked right up where she left off late last season when she scored 6 goals in 3 games as a freshman call-up.
"I'm still learning to play at this level," Evans said. "But I'm playing with a lot more confidence coming into this season. There are high hopes for the team. We have a lot of talent and I'm just trying to fit in and be a part of it. Tonight was a good start. We were a little nervous at the beginning, but once we started figuring it out we worked our possessions and strung together our passing."
Carrigan Sablik got the Hawks on the board first scoring on a penalty kick at the 19:42 mark of the first half.
Then Evans took over. She scored her first goal following a corner kick from Sarah Jurek with 7:48 left in the first half. Less than a minute later Evans found the net again off a rebound to make it 3-0 Hawks at halftime. Evans added another goal in the second half on a breakaway.
"When she stepped in last year we saw what she could do," Bartlett coach Vince Di Nuzzo said. "She is going to get plenty of opportunities this year and we are excited about what she is going to be able to do for us. She did a good job of stretching the field and creating chances tonight."
Sablik added a second goal in the second half for the Hawks. Sarah Jurek and Brooke Bednarke also had goals for Bartlett.
"There's a lot to be excited about this team," Di Nuzzo said. "I really like our front three. It's one of our strengths. They are really meshing and working well together."
The Hawks defense only allowed Jacobs 6 shots on goal.
"We have a lot of experience in the back," Di Nuzzo said. "And I really liked the play of our midfielders tonight. Our veterans Jenna Dombrowski and Jessica Mursky did a good job of moving the ball and creating space and I thought our freshman Maddie Donnelly stepped in and did a real good job winning the ball."
Caitlin Kowalski scored the only goal for the Golden Eagles in the closing seconds.
"Despite the scoreboard there was some encouraging things we can take away from this game," Jacobs coach Stephanie Schuck said. "We showed we are resilient and did not get discouraged. We'll learn a lot from this game and work on fixing our mistakes."