Wildkits Whip Jones Prep In Tournament Opener

The consensus among the Evanston soccer coaching staff Tuesday night was that Bryan Maldonado REALLY needed to score a goal --- sooner rather than later so his confidence wouldn’t be affected on the pitch.

But they didn’t think he’d have to defy the laws of physics to accomplish that feat.

The senior co-captain scored his first goal of the season early in the second half as the Wildkits earned their fourth straight win, scoring a 4-0 triumph over Jones Prep of Chicago in the first round of the Evanston Invitational tournament at Lazier Field.

The Wildkits resume action on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Lake Forest Academy, a 5-2 winner over Walter Payton Prep in Tuesday’s other contest. The final round is set for Saturday.

Maldonado’s goal came after junior teammate Johnny Hunwick scored twice in the first half, once on a header and another on a pass from Joseph Sargent with Hunwick racing in from the left side to finish the play.

Somehow, Maldonado squeezed a free kick opportunity --- from an almost impossible angle in the shadow of the goal --- into the upper right corner of the net in the 64th minute to break through personally. Evanston’s last goal came 7 minutes later on a pass from Pascal Calonges to Cristiano Hamer.

Maldonado has always had that inner hunger to find the back of the net, a hunger that all great scorers seem to share. But on a team that appears to be loaded with scoring potential, opportunities might be rare even for the guys who play the most minutes.

Veteran ETHS coach Franz Calixte was certainly impressed by the shot.

“Bryan meant it when he shot, and I think he really needed it,” Calixte said. “I thought at first that he wasn’t going to shoot it because he was so close, that he’d kick it and maybe get a tap back for a shot. But he knew what he was doing, and he went for it.

“He’s a captain and our leading scorer from last year, but we’ve had to play him a little at attacking midfielder (instead of forward) because of some injuries this year. His movements have been very good out there, and he’s setting up others, creating space for them. He’s doing all of the little things he can to help his teammates. I’m glad to see him get that first one.”

Evanston placed a total of 18 shots on goal, with Jones goalie Amir Hajdavcevic stopping 14 of them. ETHS keeper Milo Slevin didn’t have to make a single save, but did get help from fullback Oliver Hassard, who knocked away a certain goal off the line in the first 10 minutes of the contest when Slevin slipped to the turf and was at the mercy of a Jones attack.

“We did what we needed to do tonight,” Calixte said. “Those goals were all nice team goals, with a couple of tap-ins after a couple of passes. We’re still only converting a small percentage of our shots, but we are creating a lot of opportunities.”