Seniors Bring New Look To ETHS Soccer Squad

Seniors who make the cut for the varsity soccer team for the first time at Evanston aren’t all that rare ever since Franz Calixte took over the program more than 20 years ago.

But the veteran coach has never seen so many new faces, all at the same time.

Another huge turnover following graduation could drop the Wildkits, a perennial power even though they haven’t won a sectional championship since 2017, back into the pack in a 2025 campaign that starts Tuesday night at Elk Grove Village.

Calixte can’t keep players from leaving via graduation and the fact that the Kits have been able to reach double figures in victories every season is also a tribute to the coaching that talented players receive on the lower levels even when they can’t crack the varsity lineup right away.

Calixte also can’t prevent the talent drain caused by the rise of academy teams, especially those created by franchises in Major League Soccer as feeder squads that create a path for professional careers that didn’t exist even 10 years ago.

The local JaHbat Football Club --- a club that Calixte helped create back in 1996 --- scored first place finishes last month at the Target USA Cup in Minnesota in the boys Under 15, Under 13 and Under 12 categories, a stunning achievement in a tournament that featured teams from 15 different countries.

But Calixte can’t know just how many of those players will ever wear the Orange and Blue at ETHS. There are too many club teams luring them to play elsewhere.

Two of Evanston’s potential starters from last year’s varsity squad, goalie Finn Kramer-Mann and midfielder Max Gentry, decided not to play for the high school team as seniors and joined MLS-affiliated academy teams. That leaves just one returning starter, senior midfielder Lukas Fox, for the upcoming season.

Of the 14 seniors on the roster, 10 are making their varsity debuts this week.

“We’ll have to coach ‘em up this year,” Calixte admitted. “We do have some hard workers, guys who will play with intensity and communicate well on the field from what we’ve seen so far. Right now we’re just trying to develop our team identity.

“There is amazing talent coming up in our community, but we aren’t getting all of the elite players. That’s the new reality, and I get it. Those MLS academy teams develop players in their systems and that’s great for the kids who have the dream to play professionally. That’s a real pathway for them to do that. But we’re seeing kids poached from JaHbat as eighth graders.

“We still bleed Orange and Blue here, though, and what we need are those who are Orange and Blue loyalists --- and want to win here.”

Calixte’s immediate concern, on the eve of the season opener, is to find some scoring punch on the turned-over roster. No one at any level scored more than six or seven goals individually among the remaining players in the program. “We’re going to have to win a lot of games 1-0,” the coach declared. “We don’t have a pure scorer coming back and it will be up to the defense to keep us in games.”

Familiar faces on the ETHS roster are led by Fox, who was a steady midfield presence for last year’s 17-2-3 team that lost to Lane Tech in the sectional tournament semifinals. Seniors John Isaac (defense), Nico Dugo (forward) and Louis Dush-Hart were primarily backups at their respective positions.

The departures of Gentry and Kramer-Mann mean the Kits will have to rebuild up the middle, where all elite teams are at their strongest. Junior Ben Matsa’s improvement gives Calixte hope at the goalie position, the last line of defense. “Frankly, last year Ben wasn’t even in the conversation to be anything but the JV goalie,” the coach suggested. “But with Finn’s surprise exit, Ben has really stepped up. He’s embracing his leadership role back there and with the other goalies (including senior Christian Coto) in the program.”

Isaac has been nursing a minor injury in Evanston’s preseason training camp and probably won’t be available for the season opener. Likely starters on defense include senior Gosha Syganevich, juniors Noah Thomas and James Nicolaou.

Up front, Dugo and senior Bruk Woldu, who is back after missing time last year with a broken ankle, could be the headliners on offense. “Nico is shifty and he can create. I think he’ll do well,” said. “He does have to work on putting himself in more dangerous positions this year.”

Help will also come from juniors Curtis Greenspan, Daniel Melnikov, Tommy Gilroy, and Caleb Nicholson, plus senior newbies Ben Novak, Alex Adeboye, Luke Pultorak, Jackson Smith, Joaquin Leon, Angel Garay, and James Bauman.