Tables turn, Bartlett falls to Quincy
Hawks lose momentum, lead in 3-2 overtime loss
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Bartlett’s rocket ride from a six-win 2014 season was just 3:49 away from a 2015 state finals appearance.
But a header goal by Quincy’s 6-foot-3 Bradyn Nokes off a 35-yard direct kick tied the game at 1-1.
Then in the ensuing two 10-minute overtimes, Quincy’s Riley Roth struck for goals in each session (on a breakaway 5:22 in, then a penalty kick with 7:49 left in the second OT) to offset a great distance strike by Bartlett’s Oliver Saile and produce an eventual 3-2 win for the Blue Devils.
Between game-ending head injuries to two starters (defender Josh Merkel and first-goal scorer T.J. Ivkovich), the last minute Quincy comeback and the overtime heartbreak, Bartlett could have had plenty of what-ifs to dwell on. But the state’s Cinderella story of this fall kept it positive.
“We came in here (to the press room) and all you guys are shaking your heads and feeling pity,” Bartlett senior Igor Zwada said. “But we probably had the best season we could have ever imagined.
“Coming into this year nobody knew Bartlett -- 6-13 last year, I don’t even know the year before that, and my freshman year I’m pretty sure they won one game.
“Bartlett was off the radar,” Zwada added. “Coming here and even participating in this is a dream come true.”
The dream appeared ready to reach mythic proportions for most of the night.
After a first half that featured three great chances, Bartlett kept the heat on with two more near misses. Tim Riordan broke free up the middle off an Oliver Saile pass with 38:20 left, sending the ensuing shot inches wide of the left post.
Two minutes later, Saile’s tough angle 12-yard drive on his right side attack was denied on a great diving fingertips grab by Quincy goalkeeper Eric Lubbert.
After an offside call denied a goal by Quincy’s Roth with 26:55 left in regulation, Bartlett finished its next chance.
Zwada sped in on left wing and connected a nice cross to Ivkovich atop the box, whose 18-yard liner sailed inside the left post for his 11th goal and a 1-0 Bartlett lead.
“I caught them off guard, touched it by their mid back and saw T.J. in the middle,” Zwada said. “I’ve trusted him all season to score, played him the best ball I could, and he hit a good shot on the keeper’s right side.”
Up 1-0, the waves of chances that had put Bartlett ahead dried up as the Hawks went into protect-the-lead mode.
“We scored our goal, and mentally we dropped back,” Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We got too defensive-minded. For 20 minutes there we were on our heels defending.”
Zwada also noted the difference in style at 1-0 instead of 0-0.
“To be honest our goal was the worst thing that happened,” Zwada said. “Everybody freaked out, dropped back, and you can’t win a soccer game in the playoffs just booting the ball up the field for almost 30 minutes. They got lucky on one chance and had the momentum going into overtime.”
Just over a minute after Zwada’s blocked shot denied a chance off a Quincy corner kick, the Blue Devils produced a dangerous restart. Chris Clay’s nice 35-yard send found the tallest player on the field in Nokes, and a bad break for the Hawks.
“We knew no. 13 (Nokes) was their go-to player on set pieces,” Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We front-backed him every time. He went up, one of my players went up with him but cramped and fell to the ground, and he (Nokes) flicked it in.”
That finish prevented what would have been an amazing win for Bartlett, considering the unfortunate challenge the Hawks faced from 15:05 left in the first half until the end.
Heading away a Quincy corner kick 25 minutes in, Bartlett co-captain and standout defender Joshua Merkel fell to the ground and had to be carried off by two teammates with a concussion.
“He was concussed earlier in the season,” DiNuzzo said. “So it was ‘It was your head; you’re done.’
“You lose your center back with 25 minutes left in the first half, you kind of have to shuffle things around. Our first option was a freshman Rudy (Reyes) who’s been hurt with a hamstring and hasn’t been playing the last three or four games. He went out and made some OK choices, but it just didn’t bounce our way.”
Situated on the Mississippi River near Mark Twain’s home town of Hannibal, Mo., Quincy wanted to produce a storybook ending to their journey.
“We all came on a five-hour trip,” Nokes said. “We didn’t want to come here and not get a win. We all stayed together.”
His team now tied at 1-1, Roth nearly ended things dramatically with 10 seconds left in regulation. Racing in left, he angled a shot just wide of the right post.
But with 20 goals coming in, Roth found his touch in the overtimes.
In the first OT, his burst behind the Bartlett defense (assisted by J.D. Sohn) put his team up 2-1.
“I saw their two center backs step in so I knew I had to get in behind,” Roth said. “I made the run, J.D. sent a perfect ball, and I had a breakaway.
“Just a few games ago I had the same situation and took a bad touch. The whole time tonight I was thinking ‘I need to keep my touch.’ I did it and got the finish.”
The breakaway was a Hawks’ rarity.
“I don’t think we’ve had a breakaway goal scored against us all year, and there were 20 yards off that kid’s space,” DiNuzzi said.
Bartlett had more misfortune with 1:28 left in the first OT, when Ivkovich joined Merkel on the sidelines with a head injury.
“T.J. has a head-to-head collision, and he was done,” DiNuzzo said. “So there was a lot of shuffling around. We couldn’t stay healthy at the right time. But we were competitive.”
The Hawks had the first chance of the second OT, a nice touch pass from Venici Leone to Reyes that the Quincy defense cleared.
One minute later, Roth was tripped on Dalton Gilbert’s send to the box. His penalty kick finish made the lead a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 with 7:49 left.
“I scored two goals Tuesday (in a 3-1 supersectional win over Andrew) in what I thought was the biggest game of my career,” said Roth, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “To come out and score two more tonight is just unreal.”
But Bartlett showed the heart that made the Hawks the turnaround story of the season.
Just 24 seconds later, senior co-captain Saile took a pass from Kevin Nava and launched a 40-yard shot just under the crossbar to chop the Bartlett deficit to 3-2 with still 7:25 to play.
“Our perseverance getting another one down 3-1 shows these kids’ hearts,” DiNuzzi said.
Said Saile: “I was just trying to keep our team in it and get some momentum. I had an opening, took a shot. and it was a good hit. It was pretty exciting, but we were still down a goal.”
That nearly changed with 2:15 to go, when Tim Riordan (who had a school-record 13 goals this season) raced in left and lined a 15-yarder off the side of the net.
Then with just 10 seconds left, Riordan dribbled in left and sent a nice cross to the front. Saile’s ensuing well-struck one-timer from 20 yards went just wide of the right post to deny an incredible ending to Bartlett’s once unimaginable run.
“We’ve been talking about this for so long, how we were going to make it here,” Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein said. “I’m really proud of the team. We made it to the Final 4. The loss kind of sucks, but we played our hearts out. We did everything we could I think.”
Considering the key in-game injuries, how close the Hawks came could have been “Hoosiers” with a checkered ball.
“It’s a tough feeling because we had 3:40 left and you’re looking at a state championship game,” DiNuzzi said. “You look back and say ‘What if.’
“But I wouldn’t change anything. (On the tying goal) we front-backed him, the kid cramped up in his leg, and that turned out to be the pivot point of the game.
“They get themselves into overtime with all the momentum in the world, and they get a goal where they play a penetrating ball that caught our defenders out.”
Bartlett’s first-ever trip past sectionals will end with a state trophy. For Quincy, coach Matt Longo is in the title game for the first time after 22 years and 372 wins.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever get the feeling (of a state final),” Longo said. “This is my last year. I’m retiring as a teacher after 35 years. It’s pretty humbling to be able to do this.”
Quincy had to fight until the final seconds of the 100-minute marathon, and also endure a tough start.
With 7:40 left in the first half, Lubbert made an incredible diving save to his right of Saile’s well-struck 21-yard free kick.
“He was a helluva keeper,” Zwada said. “He made some great saves like on Ollie’s free kick – everything we kicked, he caught.”
Riordan also drove a 20-yard try just wide off a Ivkovich pass in the 27th minute of play.
“We knew they (Bartlett) were a pretty strong team at midfield,” Longo said, “and they showed that. Once they started getting behind my midfield 25 minutes into the game, we made adjustments.
“They’re a good team. We knew they would be aggressive, and we stepped up to the plate with them as well. We watched the tape on the way up here, and these kids have listened to everything we preached – ‘Don’t worry about the other team, if you guys play your system, good things will happen.’”
Starting lineups
Quincy
GK- Eric Lubbert
D- Riley Cameron
D- Colin Burgtorf
D- Alec Askey
D- Bradyn Nokes
MF- J.D. Sohn
MF- Walker Todd
MF- Chris Clay
MF- Drew Chisholm
F- Riley Roth
F- Dalton Gilbert
Bartlett
GK- Jake Hasenstein
D- Joshua White
D- Bryan Rencinos
D- Joshua Merkel
D- Joseph Mirsky
MF- Tim Riordan
MF- Anthony Santori
MF- Oliver Saile
MF- Venici Leone
F- T.J. Ivkovich
F- Igor Zwada
Man of the Match: Riley Roth, F, Quincy
Hawks lose momentum, lead in 3-2 overtime loss
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Bartlett’s rocket ride from a six-win 2014 season was just 3:49 away from a 2015 state finals appearance.
But a header goal by Quincy’s 6-foot-3 Bradyn Nokes off a 35-yard direct kick tied the game at 1-1.
Then in the ensuing two 10-minute overtimes, Quincy’s Riley Roth struck for goals in each session (on a breakaway 5:22 in, then a penalty kick with 7:49 left in the second OT) to offset a great distance strike by Bartlett’s Oliver Saile and produce an eventual 3-2 win for the Blue Devils.
Between game-ending head injuries to two starters (defender Josh Merkel and first-goal scorer T.J. Ivkovich), the last minute Quincy comeback and the overtime heartbreak, Bartlett could have had plenty of what-ifs to dwell on. But the state’s Cinderella story of this fall kept it positive.
“We came in here (to the press room) and all you guys are shaking your heads and feeling pity,” Bartlett senior Igor Zwada said. “But we probably had the best season we could have ever imagined.
“Coming into this year nobody knew Bartlett -- 6-13 last year, I don’t even know the year before that, and my freshman year I’m pretty sure they won one game.
“Bartlett was off the radar,” Zwada added. “Coming here and even participating in this is a dream come true.”
The dream appeared ready to reach mythic proportions for most of the night.
After a first half that featured three great chances, Bartlett kept the heat on with two more near misses. Tim Riordan broke free up the middle off an Oliver Saile pass with 38:20 left, sending the ensuing shot inches wide of the left post.
Two minutes later, Saile’s tough angle 12-yard drive on his right side attack was denied on a great diving fingertips grab by Quincy goalkeeper Eric Lubbert.
After an offside call denied a goal by Quincy’s Roth with 26:55 left in regulation, Bartlett finished its next chance.
Zwada sped in on left wing and connected a nice cross to Ivkovich atop the box, whose 18-yard liner sailed inside the left post for his 11th goal and a 1-0 Bartlett lead.
“I caught them off guard, touched it by their mid back and saw T.J. in the middle,” Zwada said. “I’ve trusted him all season to score, played him the best ball I could, and he hit a good shot on the keeper’s right side.”
Up 1-0, the waves of chances that had put Bartlett ahead dried up as the Hawks went into protect-the-lead mode.
“We scored our goal, and mentally we dropped back,” Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We got too defensive-minded. For 20 minutes there we were on our heels defending.”
Zwada also noted the difference in style at 1-0 instead of 0-0.
“To be honest our goal was the worst thing that happened,” Zwada said. “Everybody freaked out, dropped back, and you can’t win a soccer game in the playoffs just booting the ball up the field for almost 30 minutes. They got lucky on one chance and had the momentum going into overtime.”
Just over a minute after Zwada’s blocked shot denied a chance off a Quincy corner kick, the Blue Devils produced a dangerous restart. Chris Clay’s nice 35-yard send found the tallest player on the field in Nokes, and a bad break for the Hawks.
“We knew no. 13 (Nokes) was their go-to player on set pieces,” Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We front-backed him every time. He went up, one of my players went up with him but cramped and fell to the ground, and he (Nokes) flicked it in.”
That finish prevented what would have been an amazing win for Bartlett, considering the unfortunate challenge the Hawks faced from 15:05 left in the first half until the end.
Heading away a Quincy corner kick 25 minutes in, Bartlett co-captain and standout defender Joshua Merkel fell to the ground and had to be carried off by two teammates with a concussion.
“He was concussed earlier in the season,” DiNuzzo said. “So it was ‘It was your head; you’re done.’
“You lose your center back with 25 minutes left in the first half, you kind of have to shuffle things around. Our first option was a freshman Rudy (Reyes) who’s been hurt with a hamstring and hasn’t been playing the last three or four games. He went out and made some OK choices, but it just didn’t bounce our way.”
Situated on the Mississippi River near Mark Twain’s home town of Hannibal, Mo., Quincy wanted to produce a storybook ending to their journey.
“We all came on a five-hour trip,” Nokes said. “We didn’t want to come here and not get a win. We all stayed together.”
His team now tied at 1-1, Roth nearly ended things dramatically with 10 seconds left in regulation. Racing in left, he angled a shot just wide of the right post.
But with 20 goals coming in, Roth found his touch in the overtimes.
In the first OT, his burst behind the Bartlett defense (assisted by J.D. Sohn) put his team up 2-1.
“I saw their two center backs step in so I knew I had to get in behind,” Roth said. “I made the run, J.D. sent a perfect ball, and I had a breakaway.
“Just a few games ago I had the same situation and took a bad touch. The whole time tonight I was thinking ‘I need to keep my touch.’ I did it and got the finish.”
The breakaway was a Hawks’ rarity.
“I don’t think we’ve had a breakaway goal scored against us all year, and there were 20 yards off that kid’s space,” DiNuzzi said.
Bartlett had more misfortune with 1:28 left in the first OT, when Ivkovich joined Merkel on the sidelines with a head injury.
“T.J. has a head-to-head collision, and he was done,” DiNuzzo said. “So there was a lot of shuffling around. We couldn’t stay healthy at the right time. But we were competitive.”
The Hawks had the first chance of the second OT, a nice touch pass from Venici Leone to Reyes that the Quincy defense cleared.
One minute later, Roth was tripped on Dalton Gilbert’s send to the box. His penalty kick finish made the lead a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 with 7:49 left.
“I scored two goals Tuesday (in a 3-1 supersectional win over Andrew) in what I thought was the biggest game of my career,” said Roth, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “To come out and score two more tonight is just unreal.”
But Bartlett showed the heart that made the Hawks the turnaround story of the season.
Just 24 seconds later, senior co-captain Saile took a pass from Kevin Nava and launched a 40-yard shot just under the crossbar to chop the Bartlett deficit to 3-2 with still 7:25 to play.
“Our perseverance getting another one down 3-1 shows these kids’ hearts,” DiNuzzi said.
Said Saile: “I was just trying to keep our team in it and get some momentum. I had an opening, took a shot. and it was a good hit. It was pretty exciting, but we were still down a goal.”
That nearly changed with 2:15 to go, when Tim Riordan (who had a school-record 13 goals this season) raced in left and lined a 15-yarder off the side of the net.
Then with just 10 seconds left, Riordan dribbled in left and sent a nice cross to the front. Saile’s ensuing well-struck one-timer from 20 yards went just wide of the right post to deny an incredible ending to Bartlett’s once unimaginable run.
“We’ve been talking about this for so long, how we were going to make it here,” Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein said. “I’m really proud of the team. We made it to the Final 4. The loss kind of sucks, but we played our hearts out. We did everything we could I think.”
Considering the key in-game injuries, how close the Hawks came could have been “Hoosiers” with a checkered ball.
“It’s a tough feeling because we had 3:40 left and you’re looking at a state championship game,” DiNuzzi said. “You look back and say ‘What if.’
“But I wouldn’t change anything. (On the tying goal) we front-backed him, the kid cramped up in his leg, and that turned out to be the pivot point of the game.
“They get themselves into overtime with all the momentum in the world, and they get a goal where they play a penetrating ball that caught our defenders out.”
Bartlett’s first-ever trip past sectionals will end with a state trophy. For Quincy, coach Matt Longo is in the title game for the first time after 22 years and 372 wins.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever get the feeling (of a state final),” Longo said. “This is my last year. I’m retiring as a teacher after 35 years. It’s pretty humbling to be able to do this.”
Quincy had to fight until the final seconds of the 100-minute marathon, and also endure a tough start.
With 7:40 left in the first half, Lubbert made an incredible diving save to his right of Saile’s well-struck 21-yard free kick.
“He was a helluva keeper,” Zwada said. “He made some great saves like on Ollie’s free kick – everything we kicked, he caught.”
Riordan also drove a 20-yard try just wide off a Ivkovich pass in the 27th minute of play.
“We knew they (Bartlett) were a pretty strong team at midfield,” Longo said, “and they showed that. Once they started getting behind my midfield 25 minutes into the game, we made adjustments.
“They’re a good team. We knew they would be aggressive, and we stepped up to the plate with them as well. We watched the tape on the way up here, and these kids have listened to everything we preached – ‘Don’t worry about the other team, if you guys play your system, good things will happen.’”
Starting lineups
Quincy
GK- Eric Lubbert
D- Riley Cameron
D- Colin Burgtorf
D- Alec Askey
D- Bradyn Nokes
MF- J.D. Sohn
MF- Walker Todd
MF- Chris Clay
MF- Drew Chisholm
F- Riley Roth
F- Dalton Gilbert
Bartlett
GK- Jake Hasenstein
D- Joshua White
D- Bryan Rencinos
D- Joshua Merkel
D- Joseph Mirsky
MF- Tim Riordan
MF- Anthony Santori
MF- Oliver Saile
MF- Venici Leone
F- T.J. Ivkovich
F- Igor Zwada
Man of the Match: Riley Roth, F, Quincy
