Boys soccer: Bartlett upends St. Charles North for regional title

His team clinging to a 1-0 lead as the final seconds winded down, Bartlett's Jake Hasenstein saw the ball heading toward him.

"Right as he kicked it, I saw all of their players coming in," Hasenstein said of the 40-yard free kick attempt from St. Charles North midfielder Alex Amro. "I didn't see the defense behind them so I knew it was going to be offside or I was going to save it."

The senior goalkeeper got a hand on the ball as the Hawks (14-7-2) held on for a 1-0 Class 3A regional boys soccer championship triumph over St. Charles North (14-4-4) Saturday afternoon at Millennium Field in Streamwood.

"I punched it up and it hit the football goal post," Hasenstein said.

Hasenstein's 10th and final save of the match helped preserve the Hawks' first regional title since 2011.

"If they get one back, I don't know what happens in overtime because we had no momentum whatsoever," said Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo.

"Jake doesn't get a lot of recognition - he just doesn't," added DiNuzzo. "We have a lot of players that are going to play soccer in college at the next level. I told him, 'when you get a shutout against St. Charles North in a regional final, you get a little recognition.'

"He made three great saves that proved to be the winning saves."

The Hawks wound up protecting the lead for more than 50 minutes after senior midfielder Igor Zwada slipped a shot past North Stars keeper Zack Norton following a corner kick from teammate Oliver Saile in the 14th minute.

It was a measure of redemption for Bartlett, which dropped a 2-1 decision to St. Charles North back in August.

"It was important (scoring first) but to be honest we scored the first goal the last time we played these guys," said DiNuzzo. "It kind of was a familiar feeling in that locker room (at the half)."

"This is what we expected," said Hasenstein. "When we lost to them in the first game of the season, we said that we wanted to play them again. It's a great feeling."

Hasenstein also turned away second-half scoring chances from the North Stars' Dylan Mientus and Brandon Stricker.

"Most of the team is seniors and we definitely wanted to keep on going," said Stricker. "We didn't want to lose this game but unfortunately that's how soccer is."

"You get to the postseason and it's just kind of the way it works sometimes," said North Stars coach Eric Willson.

"This group of players is definitely a special group to me. I was happy to be a part of it with them."