Hawks stay unbeaten, move to Pepsi quarterfinals

By Matt Le Cren

Most knowledgeable soccer enthusiasts would not have guessed Bartlett would win its first five games this season.

Tony Paredes certainly didn’t. Yet that is what the Hawks have done and Paredes has been a big reason why.

The junior midfielder scored the game-winning goal for the second straight match and goalie Alex Busch again came up with a game-saving stop to lead Bartlett to a 1-0 victory over Mount Carmel Saturday on the final day of group play at the Pepsi Showdown in LaGrange.

The win gave the Hawks (5-0) a 3-0 record in group play and a berth in Thursday’s quarterfinals against Larkin.

“I’m shocked,” Paredes said. “I didn’t know we were going to be good this year and we’re actually doing good. Our coach trains us every day, [uses] good drills, we run a lot and that helps a lot.”

Paredes has two goals this fall. The first came in a 1-0 win over Marist last Thursday and the second happened with 19:05 left in the first half Saturday when he volleyed a pass from Carmelo Abate and scored from 14 yards out.

“I’m excited because I got the game-winning goal for my team,” Paredes said. “Last game on Thursday I did the same thing and I’m proud of myself.”

The Hawks put plenty of pressure on Mount Carmel (2-5) and enjoyed a 16-5 edge in shots. But they weren’t able to find the back of the net again as Caravan goalie Nikko Campbell made 10 saves, six of which came after Mount Carmel went a man down when Colin Marz was ejected for a foul in his own penalty area.

That gave Bartlett a penalty kick, but Abate put his attempt over the crossbar. Two minutes later, Campbell dove to his left to save a point-blank shot from Tyler Lake, then got up and lunged to his right to snag a rebound attempt by Abate.

“It’s one of those games where you don’t expect [Paredes’ strike] to be your only goal of the game, based on how it’s going,” Bartlett coach Ben Beary said. “Last two games we’ve had a little trouble finishing. It’s not for lack of opportunities. Sometimes you just don’t get the finish.”

The same thing could be said for the Caravan, who had a golden opportunity to tie the game when Neftali Alejandre was tripped in the box with 13:00 to go. But Gonzalo Martinez sent the ensuing penalty kick straight at Busch, who stayed where he was rather than committing early.

“On the penalty shot I was scared because I thought they were going to score, but Busch saved that goal,” Paredes said. “He’s a really good keeper.”

Indeed, it was the second consecutive shutout and third overall for Busch, who joked to his teammates that he was going to say the ball went toward the upper 90. But a save is a save and the result was the same.

“Alex saved us in the last game with a [stop on] a breakaway,” Beary said. “Two games in a row now, he’s been the difference in our wins.”

However improbably, the wins keep coming for Bartlett, which is making its Pepsi Showdown debut.

“Our goal coming into this week was to finish this week without losing and move on to the next round, give ourselves an opportunity to continue playing and we did that,” Beary said. “Only eight teams get to do that and we consider ourselves proud of the fact that we’ve accomplished that goal. The first goal of the season is under our belts.”

Paredes credited fellow midfielder Fabio Aiello with helping him control the center of the play and create numerous opportunities for the Hawks. The back line of Dan Giera, David Wade and Brett Dini also impressed, as Busch had to make only two saves.

Bartlett is now just two wins away from playing at Toyota Park, site of the tournament championship match on Sept. 25.

“When I heard that [we would be in the Pepsi Showdown],” Paredes said, “I was like, ‘If people want to play at Toyota Park you have to try your best every single game and win it so we could play there.’”