Girls soccer: Bartlett's big 2nd half drops Burlington C.

Trailing Burlington Central 2-1 at halftime, Bartlett's girls soccer team stayed composed while looking forward to having strong winds on its side for the second 40-minute half.

"At halftime, our coaches were telling us that it's not like we have an automatic win," said Hawks senior defender Paige Bednarke. "We still needed to use the wind to our advantage."

That they did.

Bartlett (3-0-2) unleashed its potent offensive attack on the Rockets (1-2), scoring 4 unanswered second-half goals during its 5-2 victory in Monday's opening round of the annual Rose Augsburg Drach Invitational at St. Charles East.

Less than a minute into the second half, senior midfielder Mikayla Brown blasted a 35-yard shot that found its way into the back of the net to tie the contest at 2-2.

"It was something I don't think we were planning on being that direct with it but after we started to hit a couple (shots) on goal, I think the girls realized that the wind definitely was a major factor adding to the force of their kicks," said Hawks coach Vince Revak.

A little more than 10 minutes later, Bednarke notched the eventual game-winner on a header off a corner kick from Brown, who also netted the Hawks' lone first-half tally.

"In years past, we've struggled with even heading the ball so that (goal) was wonderful to see," said Revak.

Freshman Tessa Evans added the Hawks' fourth goal when she spun around and delivered a 30-yard shot high into the right corner of the net midway through the second half.

Several minutes later, Bednarke capped the scoring with her 40-yard free kick.

"The wind took it and helped us out in that situation," said Revak.

"We started taking a couple more chances (in the second half). We knew they (the Rockets) would adjust for it (wind) but there's only so much you can adjust for when you're in the middle of a game. We told the girls, 'If you feel like it, take a chance,' and it worked out for us today."

Despite the second-half onslaught, the Hawks began the final 40 minutes with a patient approach.

"We needed to take it five minutes at a time - that's what our coach tells us," said Bednarke. "It's not 40 minutes - it's 40 minutes broken up. I think taking it five minutes at a time is really helpful and beneficial for our team because you take it in small intervals rather than it being so overwhelming knowing we need to score two goals to win.

"We tried to score one in the first five minutes, one in the next five minutes and keep it going from there. That's exactly what happened."

Burlington Central grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute as freshman Sydney Tecza put away a picture-perfect cross from junior Zoey Kollhoff.

Kollhoff scored her fourth goal of the season on a 35-yard free kick in the 33rd minute, giving the Rockets a short-lived 2-1 lead at the intermission.

"It's not necessarily the score that I'm concerned about with these girls," said Rockets coach Jessica Arneson. "It's more that we dropped our heads completely after they (the Hawks) scored that third one."

Burlington Central returns to face the host Saints Wednesday.

"We are looking for competition on turf fields as much as possible," said Arneson. "At the beginning of the season, we want to see teams like this (Bartlett, STC East) that will help us grow."