Wildcats end a grueling week of play

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By Gary Larsen

You'll get no excuses from the girls at West Chicago this year, even during a week in which they play 7 games in 8 days.

Bartlett scored early and often against a West Chicago team playing its sixth game in seven days on Friday, and playing without key attacking player Meagan Radloff, who is nursing an ankle injury.

“We, as a team, still have to survive without (Radloff),” West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez said. “We didn’t do that today. Losing 1-0 or 6-1 is still losing, but you’ve got to get something out of it. We can possess but we got away from our game today. When we get away from what we do best, we’re going to end up with this kind of result.”

“We’re not a physical team, we’re a possession team. Today I think we panicked early, gave up a corner kick and they scored. I think we gave up four goals in twenty minutes.”

West Chicago’s Anna Mercaldo tipped her hat to the Hawks and wouldn’t use her squad’s grueling recent stretch of games as an excuse.

“I think they played a good game and I definitely don’t think we played our best,” Mercaldo said. “We both tried our best; they just tried harder. We’re a little bit sore and some of us are sick, but no excuses.”

Fellow Wildcats captain Rachel Thomas agreed.

“They hit good shots and they deserved the goals they got,” Thomas said. “Soccer is about mistakes and chances, and they got their chances.”

“We just have to keep working hard, play for each other, and keep it up. We can’t let this get in the way of tomorrow’s game or any of our other games. It’s over. There’s nothing we can do now.”

If the pattern holds steady this season for Bartlett, pity the team that squares off with the Hawks when they're coming off a loss.

After Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Rolling Meadows, Bartlett tagged West Chicago with a 6-1 loss on Friday. The Hawks previously bounced back strong in a win over Oswego, following a season-opening loss to Schaumburg.

“We’re going to have some bad games, unfortunately, but it’s good to see that we can rebound from that,” Bartlett coach Heather Thomas said. “All around, we played like a team tonight.”

A Lisa Palmer hat-trick, two goals from Nicole Gobbo, and a Nicki Noreen goal spearheaded Friday’s win. Sam Barone, Gobbo, and Trisha Donlon provided assists on the day, as part of the South Elgin Invitational.

“I think we expected a really good game and we came in prepared,” Gobbo said. “We practiced hard and we were ready for this. We played together as a team today and against Rolling Meadows we weren’t really connecting passes. Today, we were.”

Gobbo put in a solid day’s work on Friday.

“Nicole Gobbo did a good job today,” Thomas said. “She’s got deceiving speed. She’s so fluid and graceful that you don’t realize how quick she is on and off the ball.”

Palmer netted two goals before halftime; one set up by a corner kick and the second on a penalty kick conversion. The sophomore’s third goal came on a shot blistered from 18 yards out in the second half.

“I’m pretty sure the ball was crossed to Amanda (Zindel), but it looked like I had a better angle at it so I just told her to leave it,” Palmer said. “Then I just took the shot.”

Palmer’s rip tore into the back netting from long-range. Her versatility was on display throughout the contest.

“She’s got strength in the air, movement off the ball, and she controls the middle of the field,” Thomas said. “She’s doing a great job there for us. She’s not afraid to get back defensively, she’s one of those players we can play in multiple positions and she’ll be successful. She’s mainly a center mid but we’ve put her back at sweeper and at stopper before.”

Thomas also applauded the play of Sam Fairbanks and Ashley Johnson against West Chicago. Palmer talked about the key to the one-sided win.

“Passing. Controlling the midfield and passing,” she said. “Sometimes we get into a kick-ball game but it seemed pretty apparent that we controlled it well this game.”

Bartlett followed Friday’s win with a 2-0 win on Saturday against South Elgin, upping its season record to 5-2. Donlon and Gobbo each scored against the Storm. The Hawks play one game in the upcoming week, traveling to Crystal Lake South on Thursday.

Gomez lauded Jenny Amaro for her play on Friday for West Chicago, which went on Saturday to play its 7th game in 8 days. The Wildcats lost 3-2 to South Elgin, getting goals from Mary Rojas and Katie Becker.

West Chicago is now 3-4 heading into its spring break week, during which the Wildcats will travel to Oswego for a game on Tuesday before hosting Larkin on Friday.

Rolling Meadows secured the title of the South Elgin Invite on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Hampshire.