Bartlett’s junior forward, Patryk Linski, has been regaining his confidence. In a decisive moment during Monday night’s match, he took charge. With the Hawks trailing and only 43 seconds left, Linski opted to take the penalty kick himself after drawing a foul.
“In my head I was like, ‘I won that,’” Linski explained, underlining his motivation and confidence. It wasn’t the plan Bartlett coach Anthony Glorioso had envisioned, but Linski delivered the game-tying goal, securing a 2-2 nonconference draw against Hampshire.
Previously, Edwin Santillan had scored for Bartlett at 10:05 in the first half, leveling the game at 1-1. Hampshire had initially taken the lead with Brian Vega’s goal at 33:31 of the first half. Momo Allnoch then gave Hampshire a 2-1 lead with 37:17 left in the second half.
Coach Glorioso had anticipated Santillan to take the penalty kick, not Linski. “I told Pat from the sideline, pointed to my head, ‘Be smart,’” said Glorioso. “He took it as, ‘Take the PK.’ Thank God he scored. That was miscommunication on my part.”
Linski employed a clever tactic: “I just went and took it. What I do is when the referee takes a long time, I always look at the corner I’m going to shoot at, and right before I shoot, I look at the other corner. I shoot at the corner I was staring at the whole time.”
Glorioso praised Linski’s return to form, noting changes since a team trip to Iowa. “He’s really looked good…Beginning of the year, maybe he was in his head…He’s been doing his normal Pat stuff, which is nice, taking it down the line, winning balls, things like that.”
Linski attributes this improvement to a conversation with his father. “Before Iowa, there was a lot going on in my life,” Linski said. “My dad…just gave me a big speech. This is a one-time opportunity. Try your best. Do your best. That’s what I did, and that just cleared my whole head.”
Hampshire, facing a packed schedule with three games in four days, is focused on maintaining fitness and performance in the Fox Valley Conference. Although Vega was largely rested, Hampshire coach Chayanne Martinez emphasized the importance of rotations to keep players healthy.
Martinez remarked, “We have to make sure we stay healthy…We have three games this week…make sure all the simple things are done right.”
Bartlett, having pulled a tie from a seemingly lost game, is gearing up for playoffs with an optimistic outlook. “The record is just the record,” Linski said. “In the playoffs, the record doesn’t matter. We’re here to play.”
Paul Johnson reports for The Beacon-News.
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