Hawks put 5 on the board vs. Elgin
By Gary Larsen

The torch was passed from Erin Zaideman to Natalia Grodzki two years ago, and this year it’s Amanda Lozada’s turn to carry that torch for a while.

Bartlett’s junior goalkeeper has a high standard of play in net to live up to and her coach has no doubt that she’ll live up to it.

“I’ve been very lucky the last several years that they’ve come in and I haven’t had to do much with the keeper situation,” Thomas said. “Amanda has totally stepped up and she’s coming into her own. She’s our oldest member of the team and I think that has also given her the ability to step up as a leader and a role model. It gives her a little more confidence.”

As the lone junior on a team with no seniors this year, Lozada will be needed to hold down the fort as a team full of freshmen and sophomores slowly figures out how to attack and score goals at the varsity level.

Bartlett’s young side took a confidence-building step in that direction on Saturday in a 5-0 win over Elgin that featured goals from Kaitlin Brohan, Junior Alba, Corissa Berg, Nicole Berg, and Lindsay Rockensock. The Hawks (2-3) kept Elgin pinned on its half of the field throughout the game, essentially giving Lozada a day of rest between the pipes.

A Bartlett backline that included Toria Tomasek, Jamie Kenna, Junior Alba, and Shannon Brohan stayed high and rarely allowed Elgin to cross midfield, while the Hawks applied sustained pressure on the Maroons’ defense.

“I’m so glad they’re out there with me,” Lozada said of her defenders. “We’ve been playing with each for two years now and there’s a lot of communicating, a lot of talking going on.  I was actually bored a little bit today, which was a great refresher. We’ve been working so hard in practice and it’s nice to see it really paying off.”

Lozada is easing into her role as a leader on the field for Bartlett, and she tipped her hat to former keeper Grodzki for helping to show her the ropes. Grodzki now plays for Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.

“I know she’s not here anymore but I definitely thank Natalia (Grodzki), too,” Lozada said. “Being a starter on the field now I incorporate a lot of the things she taught me. She showed me how to take a leadership role in terms of talking out there, and it’s nice to be out there taking that leadership role.”

Bartlett freshman Kaitlin Brohan began the day’s scoring eight minutes in, busting through the Elgin backline and striking from 12 yards out. Freshman Alba made it 2-0 from 18 yards out at 20 minutes, and Brohan hit the crossbar with a shot five minutes later.

The game’s third goal came Corissa Berg, five minutes into the second half, and Thomas was happy to see the sophomore striker get a goal under her belt.

“(Berg) has had some good opportunities and just hasn’t been able to put one away, and I told (assistant coach Bobby Till) that she just needed that one goal to give her that confidence,” Thomas said. “I think that will get the ball rolling for her and for a couple other girls as well. They’re so young, and they just need that confidence that they can do it.”

Sophomore Nicole Berg made it 4-0 one minute later and the freshman Rockensock finished the day’s scoring late in the contest.

“We started off really well, moved the ball really quickly, and it was good to see some different girls get in the attack and score some goals,” Thomas said. “Hopefully that carries them forward. They need a day like this.

“I liked that all of them got touches on the ball and how we were able to switch the field quickly and play it through the defense. And I really liked how our defense got high today. We’ve been talking about getting our outside backs into the attack and we saw some of that, especially with Shannon (Brohan) on the outside. I thought Kaitlin Brohan played well, Shannon Brohan played well on the defensive side, and that Corissa and Josie (Dombrowski) did a good job. Overall, it was a good day.”

Saturday’s win came in opening-round play of this year’s South Elgin Invitational. The Hawks take on Dundee-Crown Monday at Streamwood’s Millennium Field and South Elgin on Wednesday, before Thursday’s medal round is set.