By placing a couple of teams in the Final Four at the Class 3A Illinois High School Association state finals --- champion New Trier and fourth place finisher Glenbrook North --- the Central Suburban League proved beyond a doubt that the best soccer in the state is played on the North Shore.
This year? It might even be better.
That’s the daunting challenge that lies ahead for another powerhouse Evanston team, which delivered a statement victory Tuesday night in the Central Suburban League South division opener with a 4-0 blanking of Maine South at Lazier Field.
Find out what's happening in Evanstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Wildkits put up another clean sheet and scored their 8th win in a row, moving to 8-0-1 on the season overall. Senior Joseph Sargent banged in a pair of goals and Cristiano Hamer and Johnny O’Carroll added one apiece as the Kits upped their level of play and scored their sixth straight shutout.
Whoever wins the CSL South in 2024 will really have to survive a gauntlet of tough competition. The website Chicagolandsoccer.org has five teams from the CSL South --- just that division, not the entire conference --- ranked in the top 15 in the Chicago area in this week’s poll and that’s not likely to change even if the South schools take turn beating up on each other for the rest of the regular season.
Find out what's happening in Evanstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Deerfield, which hosts the Wildkits on Thursday night at 7 p.m., is the only CSL South team not mentioned in that poll.
“I’ve seen the improvement of all the different teams, and if we get too comfortable, we’ll slip on our backs,” said Sargent, who scored in the 10th and 49th minutes Tuesday night. “It’ll be tough to win the conference. We have to dig deep and just keep going in every game we play.
“This was definitely our toughest game so far. All the games will be hard in the conference. It will get tougher and tougher down the line.”
“It’s an immense challenge for us. It’s extremely important to me to win the conference because this is my last year,” said Hamer, a senior. “I’m really proud to play for ETHS and it would really be a blessing to win it. We know we’re the best team.”
Head coach Franz Calixte expects his squad to challenge for the conference crown every fall, although postseason success is still the priority for the veteran coach and his players.
“I think GBS (Glenbrook South) and us are the teams to beat this year,” Calixte said. “This was a good, solid win for us tonight --- like a statement win. Maine South tied a Leyden team that a lot of people think is one of the best around and I think the level of play in our conference gets better every year.
“You can have a great team, but at the same time another school might have a great team, too. That’s what makes it so hard to win the conference. There’s good talent and excellent coaching here. We beat a team doing really well (7-2 entering the game) by four goals tonight and I really like the way these guys rise to the occasion.”
Senior goalkeeper Charlie Dillman stopped 7 shots for the winners, including a diving deflection of a low line drive struck by South’s Will Smucker in the 17th minute after ETHS had taken a 1-0 lead on a head shot by Sargent following a great service pass from George Lewis.
Evanston’s next goal was one for the season highlight film. Hamer created an opportunity with a run down the right sideline, briefly lost possession, then beat two Hawk defenders to the ball and squeezed in a shot over the head of South keeper Joe Figula to make it 2-0.
Hamer was almost standing on the end line when he took that shot.
“Stu (teammate Stuart Keely-Walker) hit it, and I just cut in toward the goal and chipped it over the goalie to the far left post,” said Hamer. “I knew the goalie wouldn’t get it. All I had to do was finish it off.”
Hamer was back in action after missing Evanston’s last two games with a knee injury suffered versus Deerfield. He only played about 20 minutes, partly because he was tagged with a pair of yellow cards that will automatically keep him on the sidelines for the next ETHS game at Deerfield.
“I just wanted to come back tonight and make a state, that I can still score and make an impact on the game,” said the senior striker. “Once I got back on the field, I knew I needed to score.”
Evanston tacked on two more goals in the second half. Sargent found the back of the net on a breakaway play that started with a pass from Zach O’Donovan, and O’Carroll’s rebound shot 17 minutes later completed the scoring.
