North Stars score late to rally for a draw with Hawks

By Seth Hancock

Take one look at the stats and it's clear how much of a factor the wind affected Bartlett and St. Charles North on Saturday.

In the first half, host Bartlett won the possession game and the Hawks were able to tally six shots on goal to St. Charles North's one.

In the second half, the North Stars ripped 10 shots on goal while Bartlett was unable to get a shot on target.

And in the end this Upstate Eight Conference crossover match ended in a 2-2 tie as a late goal by North's Joe Stone helped spoil the Hawks' senior day festivities at Millennium Field in Streamwood.

"Both teams had a chance to have the wind at their backs, and both teams took advantage of it when they had it," Bartlett coach Ben Beary said.

"The wind went straight down the center of the field," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. "It was a factor, no question."

With just 1:39 left on the clock, Stone netted the equalizer after Drew Smith served up a nice feed from outside the goalkeeper's box.

Stone was near the net on the left side and headed the ball past diving Bartlett goalie Alex Busch as the ball found the lower right corner of the net.

"We just wanted to come out stronger in the second half, and I thought we did," Stone said. "The first half was really hard, but our team never gives up."

The North Stars (12-4-3) had the only opportunity to net a game-winner as Noah Anthony took a shot with just five seconds remaining, but the ball landed just right of the net.

Anthony set up the North Stars' first goal when he took a corner kick with 13:34 left in the game which Brandon Stanko was able to get a head on to find the net.

"We wanted to test their keeper," Willson said. "He made some great saves, but we kept on getting nice shots."

Both squads faced adversity in the second half. Just seven minutes in, North's Zack Matuszak was taken down by Bartlett's Tony Paredes, which led to Matuszak missing the rest of the game due to an injury.

Paredes also missed the rest of the game after he was given a questionable red card on the play which meant the Hawks (10-5-2) were playing a man down the rest of the match.

About five minutes later, Beary was given a red card for questioning a non-call, forcing him to watch the remainder of play from behind the fence.

"I don't know what these refs were thinking giving Tony a red card. It wasn't intentional," Beary said. "This particular ref and I have a bit of a history, and I say two things the entire game and get a red card.

"I don't think it was right, but I'll say my guys played well a man down and with the wind disadvantage in the second half."

In the first half, Andrew Triantos gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead after he won a 1-on-1 situation with North keeper Jake Pezzutto just 12 minutes into the match.

With 9:02 left before halftime, Fabio Aiello netted Bartlett's second score on what Beary described as "one of the prettiest goals" the Hawks have had all year.

The Hawks had a myriad of players fighting for a free ball inside the keeper's box with both Eric Kennebeck and Brett Dini getting a foot on the ball.

And with the ball floating in the air, Aiello got the final foot on it and scored from just outside of the box.

Both keepers, Busch (9 saves) and Pezzutto (4 saves), came up with some big stops during the match.

Despite not getting the win, the Hawks did see some strong play during the seniors' day match.

Bartlett's seniors include Busch, Triantos, Dini, Kennebeck, Dan Giera, David Wade, Tommy Russo, Alex Ortiz, Marino Zaccaro, Chris Koechle, James Cooper and Chris Baumann.

"I'm so proud of them. My seniors have played well all year, and they played well today," Beary said.

"That first half, they were finding great combinations and passing well. That was one of our better halves all season."

The North Stars were coming into the match after a strong 1-0 win on Thursday over then-undefeated Leyden, which snapped a tough three-game losing streak.

Rallying from a two-goal deficit to earn the tie on Saturday should be a confidence booster going into the final stretch of the season.

"We don't quit," Stone said. "If we're down two, we're going to try to get three. Even though we didn't, it felt good to rally and get the tie."