Bartlett surprises St. Charles North in regional final
The Bartlett boys soccer team established two goals before the season.
The Hawks wanted to advance farther in the postseason than they did a year ago they lost in a regional title game last fall and they wanted to win more games (15) than they did a season ago.
They may still be short on win No. 16 but they got an all-important one in Monday's Class 3A St. Charles North regional to accomplish half of their goals.
Bartlett scored with 21:12 remaining in the contest and held on to defeat St. Charles North, 1-0.
With the victory, Bartlett moves to the Class 3A Schaumburg sectional on Tuesday where it will face Elk Grove at 7:30 p.m. Geneva and Leyden play at 5:30 p.m. in the first semifinal.
“We've seen North play and we knew that we had to play the perfect game and we didn't make a mistake,” Bartlett coach Ben Beary said. “It came down to who capitalized on their chances. We didn't have many but we capitalized on that one chance.”
Junior defender Joey Morgan served a beautiful free kick from near midfield to forward Tyler Lake to score the game-winner. Going directly into the wind, the ball landed in the penalty area untouched and Morgan blasted it into the back of the net.
“It just came down right over the defender and landed right near me,” Lake said. “I don't think it touched anybody and I couldn't believe it was right there.”
St. Charles North (16-6-4) was shocked in giving up the go-ahead goal as the North Stars had dominated the possession game the entire second half, but couldn't finish on any of their many chances.
“It shows if you make one mistake that can be it,” St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. “We didn't put away any of our chances and that's going to come back and haunt you eventually, just like it did tonight.”
Bartlett spent the majority of the second half on the north side of the field as the North Stars constantly challenged the Hawks and goalkeeper Alex Busch.
“If they decided to award an MVP for this game, it was him (Busch),” Beary said.
Noah Anthony took 8 corner kicks in the final 20 minutes for the North Stars and while they came awfully close to getting a few past Busch, they were denied on every one.
“I think we got into a rhythm after awhile,” Busch said. “They (St. Charles North) kept pushing and pushing and we just kept trying to stop them and then when we scored that was a huge weight off my shoulders.”
The game was moved from St. Charles North to St. Charles East because of its better playing surface. The game began on Saturday night at St. Charles North but was suspended due to lightning.
“I think we cleaned up the fouls at midfield (from Saturday) and they probably had more chances on Saturday than today,” Willson said. “But all it takes is one.”
It'll take a few more victories for Bartlett (13-6-4) to surpass 15 wins but the Hawks will have a chance to add to their total Tuesday night.
As for the North Stars, it's never easy for a season to come to a close, especially since they say goodbye to 13 seniors, including standouts Jared Casey, Brandon Stanko and Anthony.
“The senior group we've had will be missed,” Willson said. “This class helped carry on the tradition that was here before they started and they did a good job of carrying it on.”