Bartlett’s Patryk Linski has been feeling more and more like himself lately, so when the junior forward drew a foul in the final minute Monday night, he didn’t hesitate.
He decided to take the penalty kick himself.
“In my head I was like, ‘I won that,’” said Linski, who stepped up as the Hawks trailed with 43 seconds left. “I was feeling very motivated. I was like, ‘I’ve got it.’ I was feeling very confident.”
It may not have been the way Bartlett coach Anthony Glorioso drew things up, but Linski converted the PK for the game-tying goal to give the Hawks a 2-2 nonconference tie against Hampshire.
More Top Picks Best Hearing Amplifiers For Seniors
Edwin Santillan scored the other goal for Bartlett (3-11-1) with 10:05 left in the first half that forced a 1-1 tie. Brian Vega got Hampshire (10-2-2) on the board at the 33:31 mark of the first half.
After Momo Allnoch gave Hampshire a 2-1 lead with 37:17 left in the second half, Glorioso was surprised when he saw Linski lining up for the PK, expecting Santillan to take it instead.
All’s well that ends well, however.
“I told Pat from the sideline, pointed to my head, ‘Be smart,’” Glorioso said. “He took it as, ‘Take the PK.’ Thank God he scored. That was miscommunication on my part.”
Linski had an ingenious plan, though.
“I just went and took it,” Linski said. “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 is just happy to see Linski back to his normal, aggressive self after a slow start to the season. Glorioso confirmed that ever since a recent team trip to Iowa, Linski has turned it on.
“He’s really looked good,” Glorioso said. “Ever since that trip, he’s looked good. Beginning of the year, maybe he was in his head. He came off the bench. He wasn’t Pat. He wasn’t his normal self.
“He’s been doing his normal Pat stuff, which is nice, taking it down the line, winning balls, things like that, so that’s been nice. He’s really turned the corner.”
For Linski, all it took was a talk with his father.
“Before Iowa, there was a lot going on in my life,” Linski said. “My dad, before I left for Iowa, he 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. It feels good. I’m getting more playing time. I’m feeling more confident. I feel great.”
More Top Picks Best Spelling Tools For Dyslexic Kids
Hampshire, meanwhile, is in a stretch of three games in four days, the final two in the Fox Valley Conference. The Whip-Purs, who are 4-0, have aspirations of winning the conference title.
Because of that, Hampshire coach Chayanne Martinez rotated players throughout and largely rested the dynamic Vega.
“We have to make sure we stay healthy,” Martinez said. “We have three games this week. We have to make sure everyone gets their rotations in and we can keep going in conference, make sure all the simple things are done right.
“There are a lot of minutes this week and we want to make sure we keep everyone healthy.”
At the same time, Bartlett appears to be on the verge of a breakout. Pulling a tie out of what looked to be a loss in the final minute against a good team could help in that regard.
“The record is just the record,” Linski said. “In the playoffs, the record doesn’t matter. We’re here to play.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.