Senior midfielder links Hawken to its lineage

For the Hawken boys, the best of times for nearly two decades were the present.

No soccer program in The News-Herald coverage area has logged more state final four berths. No side has done an international walkout for a state final more.

These days, though, the Hawks are fighting to return to what they know best — the days players such as Aidan Bobrow know well.

Bobrow is one of the few remaining links to the lineage of Hawken boys success deep into October and November. As a freshman, he was on a Division III state semifinalist side in 2013, the last of the Hawks’ 12 trips to the final four.

Now as a senior and one of this area’s top creative central midfield influences, he understands the sense of urgency involved when multiple years go by without a run past district competition in an ambitious attacking side.

“I know what my coach is looking for,” Bobrow said after a 1-0 win over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on Sept. 29. “I had great players in front of me who just taught me the way.

“I would love to go back (to state). My freshman year, we made the state final four. In Division II now, it’s different. But better competition is all the more fun. If we make it farther, it makes it that much more significant, and we’re looking forward to it.”

A year ago, Hawken endured an uncharacteristic six-match winless skid midway through the regular season before getting on a D-II district final run, finishing 9-8-1. In that district final against eventual D-II state final four side Lake Catholic, the Hawks gave a good accounting of themselves in a hard-fought 1-0 loss, spearheaded by Bobrow’s workrate in midfield.

Given the Cougars went 21-1 and spent most of that fall in the D-II state title conversation, it was a building block for Hawken to play Lake that close.

“That gave us a lot of confidence,” Bobrow said. “We knew how good they were last year. We kept them to one goal, when they scored a ton all year. We got a good result against them this year (dropping a 2-1 match Sept. 1). Hopefully we get another chance to play them again in the playoffs and see them in the playoffs and replicate what we did last year.”

What the Hawks seem to replicate beautifully under longtime coach Dani Giulvezan is attacking quality regardless of personnel. Bobrow is the latest of a long line of creative center mids in the program, with ballwinning and a keen, pacey eye for service.

Giulvezan has seen that on display from Bobrow since he was young, and he is pleased to have him help guide a side that is now 5-4 this fall after edging NDCL.

“I think he came along really, really well,” Giulvezan said. “He became a very nice player. He’s always been a great kid. He has great character. I can talk to him about the game for hours and hours.

“I remember him when he was 8 years old — he used to come to my Cleveland Select camps. And I remember the fire that he had in his eyes all the way back then. He has the same fire, the same drive, the same desire — the same willingness to do good and became as good as he can be.”

Match recap

Bobrow won a lightningshortened match for the Hawks on Sept. 29 with a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Locked in a scoreless stalemate, Charlie Ross won a ball on the edge of his box and made a sharp diagonal run into the box. He drew contact, and the center official pointed to the spot. Bobrow took care of the rest with a solid rightfooted effort.

“I played (the PK) low,” Bobrow said. “It’s wet. It skipped. It had some pace to it. It wasn’t my bestplaced, but it went in.”

In the 74th minute, lightning was spotted. In a tight match with possible district seeding implications, NDCL coach Marco DiFranco was understandably hopeful to play out the last six minutes. Mother Nature had other plans, though. After a loud, close thunder clap, DiFranco shook center official Brian Miller’s hand, and both sides quickly sought safety.