By the time the number of whistles climbed into double digits, the Bishop Hendricken soccer team almost had to laugh.

Better than crying.

The Hawks drew more than a dozen offsides penalties in Monday’s home game against Mount St. Charles. It would have made for a seriously frustrating night had the calls kept Hendricken off the board. Instead, thanks to a Marcello Penta goal early in the second half, all the whistles were just a minor hiccup in a good night for the Hawks, who came away with a 1-0 victory and improved to 6-4 on the season.

“That was a tricky game for us,” said Hendricken head coach Mickey Rooney. “Mount is a very good team. They have some nice players up front and they have a decent defense as well. It was a tester for us, and a great job by the guys coming through. This showed a lot of character.”

Monday’s game marked the beginning of a big week for the Hawks, who were scheduled for three games in five days. Starting that stretch with a victory was crucial.

On Monday night, starting the offense was crucial, too.

It just wasn’t easy.

The Hawks had the edge in possession against the Mounties and continually pushed forward. About half the time, they pushed too much and got whistled for offsides.

It was frustrating – especially when the Hawks went to halftime in a scoreless tie – and the sheer number of calls bordered on the unusual. But with the forwards Hendricken has and the threats they were creating, Rooney could grin and bear it.

“Real good goal-scorers are always on the edge,” Rooney said. “They’re always close to being offsides. I think we could have slipped the ball a little quicker tonight, but by the same token, it’s a fine edge.”

And the Hawks didn’t fall over it every time.

Five minutes into the second half, Nathan Costello flipped a long throw-in to the box from the left side. Mark Messier headed it to the backside, away from the swarming defense. Penta waited there for it all alone, and he headed it into the net. It was the 16th goal of the season for Penta, tops in the state.

“It was a nice goal,” Rooney said. “There are far and few set plays and plans you can do in soccer, and they did a nice job with it. We attacked the ball well. It was a nice goal, and I think we deserved it.”

The Hawks had several other chances over the final 30 minutes, including a shot by Max Milder that got cleared by a defender just before it crossed the line and a diving header by Messier that popped up instead of shooting forward.

Thankfully for the Hawks, their defense made the 1-0 lead stand up. Justin Kolenda, Ryan Moore, Anthony Renzi and Jeff Sabo played well as a unit, and goalkeeper Justin Skerpan backed them up with some big saves.

Skerpan’s best effort of the night came early in the second half, when the game was still scoreless. Mount’s Matthew Koback unleashed a long throw into the box. Zach Samborsky headed it and the ball bounced high just in front of the goal line. Skerpan jumped high to slap it away.

“He made some hard shots look relatively easy, particularly the one that bounced – that was a great save,” Rooney said. “It’s certainly nice for him to get another clean sheet.”

The shutout was the fourth of the year for the Hawks, who have quietly won the fourth-most games in Division I. They haven’t had a winning streak longer than two games, but they were hoping Monday’s win – their second in a row – could send them down the right path.

“We’ve got to count our blessings that we got the three points tonight,” Rooney said. “Hopefully now we’ve turned the corner.”

If so, the Hawks have picked a good time to do it. They were scheduled to play Mount Hope Wednesday and they’ll visit defending state champion Barrington on Friday. After this week, there are six games left in the regular season.

“This week is going to define the season,” Rooney said. “Not only do you have to get through three games without injury, but sometimes teams start reading their own press releases and get a little lackadaisical at this point. In reality, you’ve really got to bear down now and start focusing. You have to realize it’s time to get ready for the playoffs.”