Hawks fall to hosts, play for third in South Elgin Invite

 

 

By Seth Hancock

Playing against its School District U-46 rival and for a chance to play in a tournament title game, Bartlett coach Heather Thomas was hoping to see her young squad play with some fire.

Instead, tournament host South Elgin dominated in the second half and shut out the Hawks in a 2-0 win on Wednesday afternoon at Millennium Field in Streamwood to wrap up pool play for both teams.

The Storm (4-0-1) dominated the Hawks (3-4) in every offensive category including a 20-5 edge in shots, a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal and an 8-0 finish in corner kicks.

“This is a big rivalry for us, and we didn’t play like it was,” Thomas said. “And now we’re going to play for third place because of it. South Elgin played like it was a rivalry game and they’ll play for the title.”

Both teams opened the tournament with pool play victories over Elgin and Dundee-Crown, and both teams’ offenses were key. South Elgin outscored its opponents 11-0 and Bartlett 8-1.

However, defense was key in the first half with neither side creating any real good scoring opportunities.

Returning sophomores Toria Tomasek and Shannon Brohan anchor the Hawks defense, which did hold the Storm to just three shots in the first half.

The Hawks offense also created only three first half shots, and sophomore Nicole Berg had the first Bartlett shot which went wide with 22:37 left before the break.

Sophomore Haley Coor and freshman Junior Alba both had a shot on goal in the first half to test South Elgin sophomore goalkeeper Jourdan Vaulkner (4 saves).

Despite the even number of shots and a scoreless tie at halftime, South Elgin held the advantage in time of possession and attacking as the Storm created half of their corner kicks in the opening 40 minutes.

“The first whistle took the girls out of play today,” Thomas said. “We didn’t come to play today and they did.”

Bartlett did have the game’s first solid scoring threat less than four minutes into the second half when freshman Kaitlin Brohan played a ball up from near midfield to sophomore Corissa Berg, who was able to get past the South Elgin backline for a breakaway opportunity.

With Vaulkner racing out, Berg was unable to get to the ball in time to get a solid shot on goal.

“We need to do a better job of recovering from stuff like that and coming out to play a better game,” Thomas said.

The Storm scored the go-ahead goal with 31:40 left in the game as freshman defender Corinne Hildebrandt raced up the right side to get a shot off on a loose ball.

Hildebrandt’s laser shot from about 22 yards out found the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 Storm lead.

“I was really happy with that, and I was just aiming for the goal,” said Hildebrandt of her first varsity goal. “I was just hoping it would go in.”

Sophomore Delaney Kelleher scored off an assist from freshman Alena Ignatev with 14:12 left on the clock for the 2-0 Storm lead.

Berg had the Hawks’ final scoring attempt as she took a shot on goal with 4:31 left to play off a feed from sophomore Karina Briones.

Junior goalkeeper Amanda Lozada, the lone Bartlett upperclassman, had a strong game to keep the Hawks in the game. Lozada finished with 12 saves, several on diving and leaping attempts.

Despite the loss, Thomas felt the South Elgin Invite has helped her young team grow and gain some confidence on offense. The Hawks had been shutout in three of their first four games.

After defeating Elgin 5-0 on Saturday, Bartlett beat Dundee-Crown 3-1 on Monday with Berg, Shannon Brohan and Josie Dombrowski each finding the net.

“Obviously the more you play, the better prepared you’re going to be,” Thomas said. “It’s important to get these games in, and the girls are learning.”

The Hawks will play Streamwood in the 3rd place game today, and South Elgin plays West Chicago in the title game.