PLAINFIELD—Sunny, dry weather Saturday certainly was greeted with open arms by teams around the area, many of which had to postpone matches throughout the week due to cold, rainy and windy conditions.

Mother Nature didn’t spare Morton or Bartlett, who squared off in their Plainfield Classic opener Saturday afternoon.

The game was Morton's first since March 28. The Mustangs saw their West Suburban Conference Gold Division opener at Willowbrook postponed April 2.

Prior to playing West Chicago to a 2-2 tie in their Upstate Eight Conference opener April 4, the Hawks had been idle since March 19. Bartlett was originally scheduled to face Streamwood in its league opener April 2, but Mother Nature intervened.

“It’s an absolutely beautiful day today,” said Bartlett coach Vince Revak “However the game goes for either team, I think we’re all thankful that the weather really worked out for us today.”

The end result worked out very well for the Hawks, whose backline and key saves by goalkeeper Megan Kron combined to stymie the Mustangs en route to a 2-0 Group 2 victory.

Revak said he was pleased with the play of his defenders: sophomore Sophie Meloche on the left, seniors Emily Kopanicak and Arris Kroeger in the middle and senior Macy Medendorp on the right.

“Their composure back there, they’re starting to jell together,” he said. “This is the first season all four have played together. They did a really nice job of containing their dangerous players. They really set the tone early. You shut down their chances, and we get a couple (of goals), and that’s the way you win really tough games.”

The first of those goals occurred in the 18th minute. Senior forward Viviana Alba positioned herself just to the right of the Morton goal prior to a corner kick from freshman midfielder Alelia Medvid. The send found its way to Alba, who put in a short shot.

Revak said the corner kick wasn’t exactly set up as he had planned it. But all’s well that ends well.

“Amelia Medvid, who’s a freshman and a great up-and-comer, took a corner quicker than we would have liked,” Revak said. “Viviana Alba had a great back-post run and a nice, little tidy finish. She didn’t panic.

“I was about to yell at her for kicking it so quickly, and now it was, ‘All right, I guess I’ll be quiet over here,’” Revak added with a smile.

Meanwhile, Morton couldn’t get anything going offensively the first half. That was a surprise because finding the back of the net hasn’t been an issue for the Mustangs (4-3-0) early this season. In their first six games, they had outscored their opponents 17-2.

In order to try to generate more scoring chances, Morton coach Jim Bageanis decided to reposition senior Karina Estrada-Vargas at halftime. The defender moved to the midfield so senior mid Carisma Rosales, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer all-stater could slide up-front.

The strategy worked. Morton’s shots-on-goal total doubled after the break from three to six. Kron, however, was equal to the challenge.

Between the 51st and 67th minutes, Rosales had three great scoring chances. Kron stopped them all, including a point-blank shot in the 52nd minute. 

Rosales gave Kron credit afterward.

“Their goalkeeper was really good,” Rosales said. “Off the bat, I just gave her a few shots to test out the goalie, but she was pretty good.”

“Megan is a superstar,” Revak said of his junior goalkeeper, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. “Even on that rare occasion when our back four is beat, usually the odds are in her favor, in my opinion. She did awesome. There was a lot of communicating back there, and the two to three good chances that they got, she just gobbled them up.

“I think her confidence is better. As a freshman, she was a little scared and didn’t play to the best of her abilities. Now, she’s saving PKs and distributing the ball. I think she just really feels good back there now, and you can see it.”

Kron, in her third year as the starter, agrees that she’s more confident than in her freshman and sophomore seasons.

“I’m going out for more balls (out in front). Last year, I wouldn’t have,” Kron said. “I feel that’s a big change, and (just) how I’m going to be a better goalkeeper.” 

Morton was stymied despite its increased second half output.

“We definitely created more chances for ourselves (in the second half),” Bageanis said, “but in the end, we’ve got to finish.

“The goalkeeper made two nice saves, but I think we could have probably finished those on another day. I think in the first half, it kind of took us a while to get our legs going.

“With the switch (involving Rosales and Estrada-Vargas), we were moving a little bit better the second half. Our passes were a little better. The first half we were kind of not clicking, but it’s a process.”

Bartlett (2-3-1) scored what turned out to be an insurance goal in the 48th minute on a penalty kick after a handball call in the box.

Junior midfielder Gracie Cwik, who scored the game-tying goal vs. West Chicago two days earlier, put the ball in the lower right-hand corner.

Following a slow start to the season, the Hawks, who were shut out in each of their first three games, rebounded with a tie and a victory against teams with winning records.

“It was a good win for us,” Cwik said. “I think it was our mentality. I think we came in here with the mentality that we were not losing. We were doing it for the team. No one was playing individually; we were all just working hard for each other.”

Revak said he couldn’t be happier with his club’s performance.

“They’re an excellent program,” he said referring to Morton. “We’re in the tournament for the first time this year, because we haven’t had success in the other tournaments. The season hasn’t gone our way so far. To start the tournament like this, I could not be happier. First shutout of the season; we got a couple of goals that we struggled to find last season; the girls just played awesome.”

The Hawks resume play in the 16-team tournament at 6:45 p.m. Monday versus host school Plainfield North. The Panthers (7-2-0) blanked Glenbard West 6-0 on Saturday for their sixth victory in a row. Five of the sextet have been via shutout, including the last four in a row.

“We come into that game like any other game,” Revak said. “It’s another good program; they’re coming off a great season. They’re on their home turf, which is always a boost for them. We’re looking for them to be an absolute battle, so that’s our next big hurdle.”

Morton plays at 6:45 p.m. Monday against Glenbard West, but the match will be played at Glenbard East, which is one of five schools that are hosting Plainfield Classic games.

“This is a quality tournament, and we’re playing quality teams all the way through,” Bageanis said. “We’ve just got to understand that we have to match the intensity level. We’ve got to match their energy levels and try to just stay in the game Anything can happen if you stay in there.

“I like it because there are teams that we normally don’t play. We get a different look at some different teams, the higher-level teams. It’s a good early-to-midyear glance at where we want to be by the end of the year.”

The Mustangs are eager to get back on the winning track.

“I think we’re a good enough team; we just need to communicate more,” Rosales added. “Obviously, we still have a lot of games ahead of us that we hope to win.”

The Mustangs played without their top forward, senior Aaliyah Leanos, who has an ankle injury.

“She should be back, but I’m not sure when yet,” Bageanis said of his second all-stater. “Probably at least four to five weeks out, if not more.”

Starting lineups

Bartlett
GK – Megan Kron
D – Sophie Meloche
D – Macy Medendorp
D – Ariss Kroeger
D – Emily Kopanicak
MF – Gracie Cwik
MF – Amelia Medvid
MF – Mia Lamz
F – Anais Vasquez
F – Yarissa Aguilar
F – Viviana Alba

Morton
GK – Melany Zuniga
D – Isabel Sanchez
D – Emily Orduna
D – Romina Lopez
MF – Mayrin Aritzel-Sanchez
MF – Melanie Garcia
MF – Karina Estrada-Vargas
MF – Stephanie Salmeron
MF – Itzel Almaguer
MF – Carisma Rosales
F – Adamary Huitron

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Kron, jr., GK, Bartlett

Scoring summary

First half
Bartlett – Viviana Alba (Amelia Medvid), 18’

Second half
Bartlett – Gracie Cwik (unassisted), 48’