Bartlett strikes again vs. Elk Grove
In a tournament of shocks, Bartlett produced yet another one Tuesday night.
Less than 24 hours after stunning No. 2 seed St. Charles North to earn their first regional title ever, the Hawks (14-6-4) knocked off No. 3 seed Elk Grove in spectacular fashion when Charlie Sordini struck the game-winner in the 86th minute to defeat the Grens 2-1.
Bartlett advances to meet No. 1 seed Leyden in the sectional championship Friday.
“It was pretty apparent to me that our match with St. Charles the night before really took a lot out of us both mentally and physically, and we really didn't play a whole lot of good soccer out there tonight, but we somehow found a way to come out of this match with a victory,” said Bartlett coach Ben Beary, who has now taken his club further than any other in program history. “We were so flat tonight, and Elk Grove, which is very organized, and so well coached, really had the run of play in that first half. But I thought we came back fairly well after the break and started to play a little bit to get ourselves into a position to eventually win.”
The Mid-Suburban East champion, like Bartlett, was coming off winning its first-ever regional championship in its long history after defeating conference rival Conant in shoot-out last Saturday afternoon. But the Grens (14-7-0) were without one of their best in senior Ernesto Rodriguez, who received a red card in the Conant match.
Elk Grove's Cesar Rodriguez, who ended his career as the program's all-time scoring leader, added another goal to his resume when the Grens finally broke a goal-less match at 56 minutes. Rodriguez broke free from a pair of defenders after being sent through and beat Hawks keeper Alex Busch in a 1-on-1 opportunity.
The Hawks did not roll over after Rodriguez' 14th goal of the season in fact, quite the opposite.
Right after the ensuing kick-off, Carmelo Abate ran onto a pass from Andrew Triantos and finished under Grens keeper Frankie Ortiz.
The lightning-quick 2-goal explosion opened up play, and Rodriguez nearly gave the Grens the lead again when the senior one-timed a rebound given up by Busch off a long wind-aided free kick from Nick Jordan into the side netting.
Triantos sprayed a shot wide at 67 minutes, then Ortiz pulled a looping ball sent in by Fabio Aiello out of the air to squelch the Hawks' hopes of going ahead as Beary's club assembled a strong finish as regulation came to a close.
“I thought we came alive in the last 15 minutes of the match, and even though nothing came of it, I knew it was a good sign for us heading into overtime,” said Beary.
And he was right.
Sordini tracked and collect a loose ball before unloading a thunderbolt into the upper right corner, sending the Hawks' bench skyward, and the Grens into total disbelief.
“I just ran onto the ball, saw an opening, and fired off a shot,” said a thrilled Sordini.
“It was going to take a goal like that to end this match tonight,” said Elk Grove coach Joe Bush.
“I know my guys are hurting right now, but tomorrow will come and they will realize what kind of season and memories they will be taking with them forever.”