Hawks beat Metea on senior night for first UEC Valley win

 

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By Seth Hancock

Coming off a 5-2 loss against St. Charles North to extend a losing streak to four games, Bartlett needed to gain a little momentum with just a few weeks left until the postseason.

And the Hawks got just that by earning their first Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division win in a 3-1 decision against visiting Metea Valley on Monday at Millennium Field in Streamwood.

“This is a win we really needed,” said Bartlett coach Ben Beary. “We had a four-game losing streak and were coming off a pounding from St. Charles North. Granted, North is a really good team, but that wasn’t us and it’s nice to bounce back after that.”

Senior midfielder Fabio Aiello put the Hawks (7-8-1, 1-3-1) on the board first, scoring in the sixth minute off an assist from fellow senior midfielder Mark Parzy.

Bartlett controlled the game during most of the first half, but the Hawks were facing a 1-1 tie at halftime, thanks to a goal by the Mustangs (5-6-3, 0-3-1) goal in the final three minutes of the half.

Senior goalkeeper Cristian Alva (9 saves) had made a great diving save for the Hawks off a Ryan Solomon shot.

But Ryan Smyth was there to grab the rebound and take the open shot with Alva on the ground for the Metea equalizer.

Despite the Hawks possessing the ball for most of the half, Metea had its best opportunities in the first 40 minutes.

Alva, though, was on his game, which included making back-to-back saves in just a couple seconds of each other off a Metea corner kick midway through the first half. He also had a couple key saves in the second half.

“Cristian, once again, came up big for us,” Beary said. “He made some crucial saves when we needed them most.”

Senior leadership was on display on the Hawks senior night as five different seniors made it onto the scoring line.

“It feels a lot better getting a win,” said senior forward Charlie Sordini who provided the Hawks with their final goal.

“(Metea Valley’s) been in and out of the top 10 all season, so they’re a good team and it’s a big win for us.”

Other Hawk seniors include Alex Corona (goalkeeper), Ramiro Arroyo (midfielder), Joey Morgan (defender), Tyler Lake (forward), Anthony DiNuzzo (midfielder), Salvador Arellano (defender), Branson Lee (defender), Christian Castro (midfielder), Mac Richmond (midfielder), Robbie Arns (forward), PJ O’Malley (defender), Landon Saile (defender) and Alex Quintana (forward).

“This is a really special group of kids,” Beary said. “I’ve coached them all four years, and with each game I’m closer to losing them and we’re going to miss them.”

In the second half, the Hawks defense tightened and helped create several of Bartlett’s scoring chances.

Morgan netted the go-ahead goal 12 minutes into the second half, and Sordini’s goal came with 5:56 left on the game’s clock.

Arroyo picked up an assist on the final goal playing the ball up to Sordini who was hustling towards midfield. Sordini raced passed the Metea defense to go in for the score.

With the playoffs around the corner, the Hawks hope to take another step forward after earning their first regional title and advancing to their first sectional final game last season.

“We need to focus on talking more and playing more possession, and we need to play a little bit better on defense,” Sordini said.

“We haven’t had the regular season that we’ve wanted, but we’re not done yet,” Beary said. “We’re going to work hard, and we’re going to give any team we face in the postseason a tough test.”