St. Charles North comes back to down Bartlett

Ryan Olson couldn't help but become inspired as he watched teammate Garrett Morgando penetrate through multiple Bartlett defenders to score the equalizer early in the second half of Tuesday's Upstate Eight crossover boys soccer match at St. Charles East.

Then, he went and used his head.

Olson was able to connect with a free kick from Alex Amro with 32:43 left in the second half, lifting the North Stars to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory.

"We were down after the first half which is always tough, but then from the sheer power from our guy Garrett we got motivated," Olson said. "He came out and literally trucked through six or seven guys and that got us going."

Morgando scored just a little more than three minutes into the second half to draw the North Stars even at 1-1 with the Hawks. Somehow and someway he dribbled his way through multiple defenders before blasting in his goal.

A few minutes later, it was Olson's turn.

"That was a beautiful ball that was right to me," Olson said. "I just happened to get on the end of it and was able to finish it."

It was Olson's sixth goal already on the season as he netted 5 goals during Monday's season-opener against Rockford East.

Amro was happy to perfectly set up his teammate, especially since he felt like he missed out on some opportunities earlier.

"I didn't feel good about how I played, but I did end up getting that assist which reassured me that I have something to look up to," Amro said. "It was good to finish like that but I still think we can improve."

Bartlett (0-1) had its fair share of scoring opportunities throughout the game and actually took a 1-0 lead late in the first half with just 7:04 remaining on a header from Tim Riordan.

"I thought we were playing well and I told the boys to keep playing like they were playing," Hawks coach Vince DiNuzzo said. "I thought it was attractive soccer and it was fun to watch those boys in the first half. We were playing well and we had control of the game and 5 scoring opportunities. We finished one, and it's a game of opportunities and we didn't finish our opportunities."

DiNuzzo felt like the Hawks outplayed the North Stars, but their inability to come through in the clutch cost them.

"The boys didn't finish their chances," he said. "That's what happens in high school soccer and we didn't finish."

St. Charles North goalkeeper Zack Norton didn't allow any goals, coming up with a handful of big saves to ensure the victory.

"We could've done a better job in the back of tracking guys but we'll figure that out," Norton said. "Fortunately, they didn't capitalize."