Notebook: Evanston; New Trier
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — The after-game mood takes different forms and attitudes, from: melancholy; to exhaustion and relief; to exhilaration.
The feeling around the Evanston players after the no. 6 Wildkits beat 20th-ranked New Trier 3-1 Thursday night was something else entirely.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever beat them,” one player said.
Evanston vs. New Trier is one of the signature events of Illinois high school sports.
“It’s a great rivalry,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “It’s two teams coming together that have history and know each other.”
Evanston has been a foil for New Trier historically.
It is almost unfair for the Wildkits to be so closely linked to the Trevians. Just about any girls program contrasted with New Trier is going to suffer by comparison.
Since the start of his tenure in 1997, Burnside has won six state titles and 12 state trophies.
New Trier had two of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport, winning three-of-four state championships from 2003-2006 and three consecutive starting in 2014.
Evanston, in a season coached by the appropriately named Marx Succes, has one girls soccer state championship accomplished with one of the state’s great teams, the 2002 squad led by Franny Iacuzzi, Rachel Hansen and Marisa Brown that went 28-0-1.
A junior stopper on that team, Stacy Omundson, was a four-year varsity starter. She boomeranged back to Evanston for her career, and more success on the pitch. She is now Stacy Salgado, the Wildkits head coach.
"Makes me feel old!," said the former all-sectional player. "That was my team. Those girls are still my best friends."
Now Salgado is hard at work trying to direct her players to the same achievement she enjoyed.
Is this a juncture that Evanston moves ahead of New Trier?
In the recent series, New Trier won 2-0 in 2019.
The Trevians went 2-0-1 last year in head-to-head matchups. The most consequential game was the 1-0 victory in a Class 3A sectional championship.
For seniors like Evanston defender Carley Menocal, the 2-2 tie the teams played in their middle game last year was their only non-defeat against New Trier until last Thursday.
“New Trier is a huge rival who we always enjoy playing against,” Menocal said.
“They always give us such a great game.”
The Wildkits’ 3-1 victory is a watershed moment is a season filled with them.
Combined with an eye-opening 5-0 victory over no. 5 Glenbrook North on May 3, Evanston secured the Central Suburban League South Division championship.
The Wildkits will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at no. 10 Deerfield for the conference title game.
Sophomore forward Jocelyn Leigh continued her ascension as one of the best players in her class against New Trier.
Physical, athletic and dynamic in space, she scored two goals two minutes apart in the middle of the first half.
She has five goals in the last two games.
The most dramatic score in the win belonged to midfielder Nahla Dominguez. Her free kick from the left edge stunned the Trevians with 2.7 seconds left.
Her mid-season return following her time with the U20 Mexican National Team coincided with the Wildkits’ breakthrough performance.
On April 13, Evanston defeated then-top-ranked and undefeated Libertyville 3-2 in group play of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic tournament.
It came off the heels of a 4-0 loss against currently top-ranked Naperville North in the same tournament.
“Our team has had this chemistry the last four years,” Dominguez said. “And then I came back, and you could feel the energy and how excited everybody was to be playing.
“I think chemistry beats skill on the field anytime.”
Since the Naperville North loss, Evanston is 10-0-1 with a 42-6 goal differential.
The only loss came against Kansas City, Missouri-national power St. Teresa’s Academy in a bracket final at the Adidas Tournament in Burlington, Iowa.
The deserved attention on Evanston’s attack has obscured the considerable accomplishments of the defense.
The Wildkits have posted 11 shutouts against strong competition. A goal by New Trier forward Lauren Caldwell in the 32nd minute was the first goal Evanston has conceded in seven Central Suburban League games (including cross-overs).
“Teams we play against don’t get too many opportunities,” keeper Ariel Kite said.
“I trust my defenders a lot, and I don’t have to worry about too many shots.”
Evanston is the no. 1 state tournament sectional seed, and could return to the same field for the sectional round.
New Trier is the host.
Six of the seven top seeds are ranked in the current Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll.
“I think Naperville North was a wake-up call,” Menocal said. “Libertyville was the second game after that.
“After Naperville North, we realized this is the time to lock it in, and that’s what we started to do.”
New Trier (9-7-4, 2-1-2) remains a dangerous and adventurous side. The Trevians are fifth-seeded in their sectional.
The Evanston game marked the Trevians ninth game against a team currently ranked in the Top 25.
Two other games have come against teams ranked in honorable mention.
New Trier is loaded with young players getting their first taste of varsity experience.
The long-term benefits are unmistakable.
“I am very proud of the kids,” Burnside said. “They have worked hard, and we have not shied away from anybody.
“You look at the Top 25 list, and we have played most of them. That’s what we want to do.”
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — The after-game mood takes different forms and attitudes, from: melancholy; to exhaustion and relief; to exhilaration.
The feeling around the Evanston players after the no. 6 Wildkits beat 20th-ranked New Trier 3-1 Thursday night was something else entirely.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever beat them,” one player said.
Evanston vs. New Trier is one of the signature events of Illinois high school sports.
“It’s a great rivalry,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “It’s two teams coming together that have history and know each other.”
Evanston has been a foil for New Trier historically.
It is almost unfair for the Wildkits to be so closely linked to the Trevians. Just about any girls program contrasted with New Trier is going to suffer by comparison.
Since the start of his tenure in 1997, Burnside has won six state titles and 12 state trophies.
New Trier had two of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport, winning three-of-four state championships from 2003-2006 and three consecutive starting in 2014.
Evanston, in a season coached by the appropriately named Marx Succes, has one girls soccer state championship accomplished with one of the state’s great teams, the 2002 squad led by Franny Iacuzzi, Rachel Hansen and Marisa Brown that went 28-0-1.
A junior stopper on that team, Stacy Omundson, was a four-year varsity starter. She boomeranged back to Evanston for her career, and more success on the pitch. She is now Stacy Salgado, the Wildkits head coach.
"Makes me feel old!," said the former all-sectional player. "That was my team. Those girls are still my best friends."
Now Salgado is hard at work trying to direct her players to the same achievement she enjoyed.
Is this a juncture that Evanston moves ahead of New Trier?
In the recent series, New Trier won 2-0 in 2019.
The Trevians went 2-0-1 last year in head-to-head matchups. The most consequential game was the 1-0 victory in a Class 3A sectional championship.
For seniors like Evanston defender Carley Menocal, the 2-2 tie the teams played in their middle game last year was their only non-defeat against New Trier until last Thursday.
“New Trier is a huge rival who we always enjoy playing against,” Menocal said.
“They always give us such a great game.”
The Wildkits’ 3-1 victory is a watershed moment is a season filled with them.
Combined with an eye-opening 5-0 victory over no. 5 Glenbrook North on May 3, Evanston secured the Central Suburban League South Division championship.
The Wildkits will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at no. 10 Deerfield for the conference title game.
Sophomore forward Jocelyn Leigh continued her ascension as one of the best players in her class against New Trier.
Physical, athletic and dynamic in space, she scored two goals two minutes apart in the middle of the first half.
She has five goals in the last two games.
The most dramatic score in the win belonged to midfielder Nahla Dominguez. Her free kick from the left edge stunned the Trevians with 2.7 seconds left.
Her mid-season return following her time with the U20 Mexican National Team coincided with the Wildkits’ breakthrough performance.
On April 13, Evanston defeated then-top-ranked and undefeated Libertyville 3-2 in group play of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic tournament.
It came off the heels of a 4-0 loss against currently top-ranked Naperville North in the same tournament.
“Our team has had this chemistry the last four years,” Dominguez said. “And then I came back, and you could feel the energy and how excited everybody was to be playing.
“I think chemistry beats skill on the field anytime.”
Since the Naperville North loss, Evanston is 10-0-1 with a 42-6 goal differential.
The only loss came against Kansas City, Missouri-national power St. Teresa’s Academy in a bracket final at the Adidas Tournament in Burlington, Iowa.
The deserved attention on Evanston’s attack has obscured the considerable accomplishments of the defense.
The Wildkits have posted 11 shutouts against strong competition. A goal by New Trier forward Lauren Caldwell in the 32nd minute was the first goal Evanston has conceded in seven Central Suburban League games (including cross-overs).
“Teams we play against don’t get too many opportunities,” keeper Ariel Kite said.
“I trust my defenders a lot, and I don’t have to worry about too many shots.”
Evanston is the no. 1 state tournament sectional seed, and could return to the same field for the sectional round.
New Trier is the host.
Six of the seven top seeds are ranked in the current Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll.
“I think Naperville North was a wake-up call,” Menocal said. “Libertyville was the second game after that.
“After Naperville North, we realized this is the time to lock it in, and that’s what we started to do.”
New Trier (9-7-4, 2-1-2) remains a dangerous and adventurous side. The Trevians are fifth-seeded in their sectional.
The Evanston game marked the Trevians ninth game against a team currently ranked in the Top 25.
Two other games have come against teams ranked in honorable mention.
New Trier is loaded with young players getting their first taste of varsity experience.
The long-term benefits are unmistakable.
“I am very proud of the kids,” Burnside said. “They have worked hard, and we have not shied away from anybody.
“You look at the Top 25 list, and we have played most of them. That’s what we want to do.”