Wildkits Work Overtime For Sectional Soccer Title

Evanston’s soccer coaches joked about the latest computer rankings by the website MaxPreps on the bus ride to the Class 3A DePaul Prep Sectional tournament Friday.

That site listed the Wildkits far back in the pack compared to teams that have already been eliminated from postseason play at No. 33 in the state of Illinois.

But no computer has been built yet that can measure heart and desire --- and the Kits rank right near the top of that list.

Evanston outlasted Saint Patrick 1-0 in two overtimes Friday night and captured its first sectional championship since the 2017 season. Alex Byhre’s goal in the first overtime period was enough for the Wildkits to punch a ticket to Monday’s Conant Super-Sectional.

One year after enduring one of the worst seasons in school history, the Kits will take a 14-6-1 record into play at the super-sectional. They’ll meet a 17-5 Addison Trail team that eliminated Glenbard West at the West Chicago Sectional by a 1-0 margin in penalty kicks.

Game time is 6 p.m. on Monday, with the winner advancing to the Class 3A Illinois High School Association state finals in Rockford next weekend.

Evanston has already overcome the odds this season after only being seeded fifth in the sectional complex. Coach Franz Calixte’s squad found a way to win again Friday and was perfectly willing to work overtime to do it.

Byhre’s goal, after a corner kick by James Nicolaou, came with 2 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first OT period and triggered a wild celebration by the Wildkits. Even though they knew that another overtime period, according to soccer rules, still had to be played, they couldn’t resist dashing to the stadium stands to exchange high fives with ETHS fans in the student section.

In fact, the winners drew a “team” yellow card for excessive celebration.

“I don’t really have a (rehearsed) celebration myself. But I knew we had a good student section here tonight and I just ran over there and started dapping hands and high-5ing everyone. I probably should have gotten a red card,” Byhre laughed.

“When the ball went over the goalie’s head, I just had to get a foot on it, and I stuck it in the back post. This is just great, it’s awesome! It feels good to bring this program back to where it should be after last year.

“Tonight I think we showed a new side of ourselves. We can win games in a scrappy way, too. St. Patrick controlled the ball really well against us, but we have great ‘want it’ as a team. We wanted it more.”

Goalie Ben Matsa’s two outstanding saves in the second half --- he finished with 7 --- kept the Shamrocks off the board until Byhre could deliver the game-winner.

Matsa’s diving deflection of a shot by St. Pat’s McKenzie Moreno in the 46^th minute belongs on the season highlight tape, and he denied the losers’ Peyton Moreno in the 60^th minute after teammate Noah Thomas blocked Moreno’s initial shot in the sequence.

“This is what we’ve dreamed of,” said the ETHS senior goalkeeper. “We put in a lot of hard work, and you can feel the heartbeat of the entire team when we play. We just want it more than every other team.

“We have a strong bond as a team. We’ve grown really close this year, and that brings out our strength. I know I was really pumped tonight. We’ve given up goals in the past couple of games and tonight MY goal was to get a clean sheet (shutout). This is the first time we’ve done this (won a sectional) in nine years, and it feels amazing.”

Evanston matched the Catholic school’s hard-nosed play in a physical contest that featured a combined total of seven yellow cards and one red card. A St. Patrick assistant coach was ejected at the start of the second OT.

“It just feels so good!” exclaimed Calixte. “These guys play with such spirit that they’re giants, the Evanston giants. Once they lock in as a team, there’s a belief in themselves.

“I’ve said before that this is like a redemption for the seniors after last year. They have a chip on their shoulders and they’re so motivated. There’s something driving them from inside.

“Ben made some huge saves for us tonight and it really was Ben’s (goalie) box. St. Pat had to settle for taking a lot of outside shots because they didn’t believe they could beat him. Just like when they beat Lane Tech (in the sectional semis) they got better and better in the second half tonight. But our kids held them down.”

Evanston won the time-of-possession battle in the first half, but the Shamrocks (13-9-1) flipped the script and upped the intensity level in the second half. The losers only mustered one shot on goal in the overtime periods, however, and Matsa handled a head shot by Peyton Moreno with ease with just 5 minutes left on the clock.