Bartlett bests Schaumburg in season opener

The foot plant was true, and the shot sailed like a missile toward the center of the Bartlett goal.

But suddenly, there was Teagan Noesen, leaping. And when she came down, she had the ball cradled safely in her arms, disaster averted.

Not bad, for a freshman.

Noesen's 37th-minute save on a penalty kick by Allison Schaar highlighted her first varsity start and prevented a Schaumburg momentum swing late in the first half, propelling the Hawks to a 3-1 victory to start the 2016 season.

"I was just trying to make my best choice of what side she was going to," said Noesen, who finished with a pair of saves, "and then she just kicked it right at me, so I was happy about that."

First-year Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo was pretty pleased with Noesen's efforts. And why not? She also wrangled a Schaar scoring attempt from 25 yards out in the 57th minute, part of a more coordinated offensive showing by the Saxons to start the second half that pressured Bartlett's back line.

"That penalty situation changed the game," DiNuzzo said. "I thought our back four played well, but Teagan, to be a freshman, to be thrown into this situation with the team that we have, is a good situation for her and she stepped into the role nicely."

Bartlett used a high-tempo first-half offense that resulted in 12 shots - 10 on goal - to take a 3-1 halftime lead. The Hawks got a pair of goals from senior midfielder Kaitlin Brohan in the 9th and 31st minutes, which sandwiched a tally from senior midfielder Mariela Alba in the 23rd.

But the Saxons got a goal from midfielder Schaar in the 12th minute, as she darted into the right corner, then popped a shot into the left corner of the net, just over Noesen's gloves.

Schaar had another chance to score on the penalty kick, preceded by Bartlett foul in the 18-yard box, but Noesen was better this time.

"I was just praying she was going to save it," said Brohan, who was watching from the bench at the time. "That gave us a lot of momentum."

Schaumburg (0-1) took all 5 of its second-half shots in the first 20 minutes, including Schaar's in the 57th, but wasn't able to score. Still, Saxons coach Greg Charvat took the long view.

"I'm feeling good about the improvement we had and the fact that they listened to the adjustments that we wanted to make in the second half and they executed the way we wanted them to," Charvat said.

Schaumburg sophomore goalkeeper Emma Aguilar had 7 first-half saves, while junior Emily Reddy had 4 in the second. But Bartlett outshot the Saxons 19-7.