Prior to ETHS boys soccer’s final game of the regular season against Round Lake, the seniors on the team were honored alongside their families in a special Senior Night celebration. But no celebration could compete with the game itself: a 7-0 demolition of the Panthers.
“It was a really special night for the guys, and today they knew that they were playing for something bigger than themselves, being their family,” said head coach Franz Calixte.
The Kits got off to a perfect start when senior midfielder John O’Carroll stole the ball from Round Lake defending senior Anthony Acosta and raced to the goal, slotting it past the goal keeper to put the Kits up fifteen minutes into the game. Just two minutes later, senior Joseph Sargent doubled the Kits’ lead, before the ball again found its way to O’Carroll near the penalty spot, who cooly found the bottom corner for the Kits’ third goal in just seven minutes. Towards the end of the first half senior Jack Baustad found O’Carrol in the center of the field, allowing him to place the ball past the reach of the goal keeper, senior Gustavo Valdivia, for his third goal in just the first half.
“O’Carroll has been awesome for us of late. He is a true attacking midfielder,” remarked Calixte.
Despite having the game seemingly wrapped up at half time, the Kits showed no mercy and added a further three goals in the second half, including a perfect top-corner shot by senior Christiano Hamer.
“We absolutely dominated as team tonight. It just so happened that I got the goals, but this was a true team effort,” stated O’Carroll
Evanston dominated possession throughout the night, and when they did lose the ball they were often able win it back high in Panthers’ territory, allowing them to create scoring chances with just one through-ball.
The blowout win comes after a series of hard-fought games for the Kits, as all of their last six games have been decided by two goals or less. A strong defense has allowed the Kits to prevail in the majority of these tight encounters, allowing less than two goals in all but two of their 19 games this season.
“If we keep playing like we are right now, then we are the only ones holding the keys to our future,” commented Calixte.
Everyone around E-Town hopes that the future contains an IHSA State Championship for the boys soccer team, and considering that the Kits are currently ranked number three in the state, it’s a future that seems possible. In order to win the State Championship, the Kits will need to go through the playoffs, which begin in the regional semi-finals at Lazier Field against a to-be-determined opponent on Oct. 22.