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Goal just before break sparks Hawks past East Aurora
By Curt Herron Tony Paredes and A.J. Ostrowski don't usually get the opportunity to contribute in a very big way for Bartlett. But the pair of reserves got the opportunity to do so late in the first half of Monday's match with East Aurora and certainly made the most of it. Thanks to the hustle of Ostrowski and Paredes in the final seconds of the first half, the Hawks captured a 3-2 Upstate Eight Conference win at Millennium Field. With just one second left before the break, Paredes connected for a short shot following an assist from Ostrowski to give the hosts a 2-1 halftime advantage. That was significant since Bartlett (10-4, 4-2) had kept constant pressure on the Tomcat goal but was tied after East scored on its lone first half chance. The momentum from the Ostrowski-to-Paredes connection carried over into the second half when the Hawks scored midway through and then held off the Tomcats. "With 10 seconds left in the first half, it would have been real easy to quit and just hold onto the ball," Hawks coach Ben Beary said. "A.J. had a throw in taken from him but got back up and sent a pass to Tony, who one-touched it in. "Tony got some real meaningful minutes in the central mid and was winning the balls that he was supposed to win and he played really tough. And give A.J. credit since he could have given up but instead got back up and set up Tony's goal. "East Aurora's the type of team that if you get a little overconfident, they'll turn around and score on you and that's what happened in the first half, where we controlled the game for the first 20 minutes but then lost the intensity." Due to Thursday's suspended match at St. Charles East, the Hawks hadn't played since claiming a 2-1 win over Streamwood on September 24. "That was way too long of a break and you always hate to have a break like that at this point of the season," Beary said. "But practice has been intense and that made a huge difference in how we played today. "I tried to hit home how important is is to stay intense in practice because if you're not intense in practice, then you'll be totally left in the dust in the games. I'm really proud of how they're practicing. "We were a little sloppy on defense today and that might have had something to do with us having so much time off. But our offense was clicking and that's really a testament to how they've been practicing." The Hawks put the pressure on East from the outset as Joe McCullough and Eric Kennebeck had shots stopped and Carmelo Abate had an attempt cleared by a defender. Bartlett got its first break about 14 minutes in when McCullough was tripped up beyond the top of the box, which resulted in a short free kick. Alex Ortiz lined the 20-yard shot past keeper Norberto Sanchez and the Hawks owned a 1-0 advantage with 25:37 remaining in the opening half. Over the next 10 minutes the hosts received shots on goal from Tommy Russo, Brett Dini, Charlie Sordini, Mike DiNuzzo and Brian Roman. Shortly after Sordini had another attempt stopped, the Tomcats evened things up when David Rodriguez scored with 8:35 left in the half. The Hawks responded with shots on goal from Anthony DiNuzzo, Dini, Sordini and Paredes during the next five and a half minutes. Things looked like they would be tied at the break before Paredes and Ostrowski put together what turned out to be the game-winner. "I was just trying my best to score that goal since I wanted to help my win this game," Paredes said. "A.J. made a nice pass to me and I scored so this goal was for me and A.J. It was pretty exciting. "Right now we're doing really good since we're 10-4 and hopefully we can keep winning more games." In the first part of the second half, the Hawks got shots on goal from David Wade and Kennebeck while East answered with a pair of shots against keeper Jeff Gal. Bartlett increased its lead to 3-1 with 19:22 left when Tyler Lake scored from close range after Mike DiNuzzo got the first touch following a corner kick. The Hawks nearly added a score with just under 16 minutes to go after Lake was tripped up in the box but McCullough's PK attempt deflected off of the post. After Lake and Mike DiNuzzo were stopped on short shots, the Tomcats pulled to within 3-2 with 7:29 remaining in the match following a goal by Juan Carmona. But the Hawks kept East at bay throughout the remainder of the match and wrapped up a big win which they hope prepares them for a tough final stretch. They entertain Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday, travel to Neuqua Valley on Tuesday, host Lake Park next Thursday and play at St. Charles East next Saturday. "Unfortunately East Aurora tied it up in the first half but somehow A.J. found an opening and got it to Tony and that goal lifted our spirits a lot," Roman said. "Coach always tells us to practice how we play. We've been working hard in practice over this long stretch so we wouldn't be rusty and we showed that on the field. "We started off a little shaky but we're playing better now. The best time of my day is when I go to practice since it's fun to be playing soccer with these guys."
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Men of the match:
But that certainly wasn't the case in Monday's Upstate Eight Conference match between Bartlett and East Aurora in Streamwood. Despite outplaying the Tomcats, and holding a decisive shots on goal advantage, the Hawks found themselves in a 1-1 tie just before the break. But thanks to the hustle of reserves Tony Paredes and A.J. Ostrowski, Bartlett moved in front for good with one second left in the opening half. After taking a throw in from Ramiro Arroyo, Ostrowski lost a ball, then got it back and passed it to Paredes, who connected from close range. With that goal as a spark, Bartlett added a score midway through the second half and went on to capture a big 3-2 victory over the Tomcats.
Hawks starters vs. East Aurora
Hawks Schedule
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