The Kits battled it out Tuesday night against top-ten-ranked Glenbrook North, sealing a 2-1 victory to extend their 11-game win streak. This exciting match was yet another aggressive game, resulting in 5 yellow cards and 1 red card against Evanston. Although chaotic at times, the players found their composure and capitalized on opportunities when necessary.
“They came off aggressive, ready to play, but our boys settled down, and we ultimately played well,” assistant coach Fernando Ferrer said.
After 15 minutes of intense play, junior Lukas Fox hit a perfect through-ball to senior Cristiano Hamer who was able to chip the opposing team’s goalie, for the first score of the match. Hamer also received the first yellow card of the game a mere 13 minutes after his goal. With nine minutes to go in the first half, Kit’s defense made their first mistake of the night, a mistouch by a center back, but that was enough for the away team’s attack to punch the last goal of the half in the back of the net.
Entering the second half of the game, the score was tied but the Kits were amped to bring home the win. This excessive energy resulted in another yellow card against senior Iyanuo Jolaoluwa in the first minute of the half. Head coach Franz Calixte also received a yellow card of caution with a quarter of the game left, followed by senior Kingston Scrim for reckless play with 6 minutes left in the game. Tensions were high on the field, but players such as captain Orlando Tobin kept the midfield contained and the team focused.
The clock was ticking, and the Kits were 5 minutes away from breaking their 10 day winning streak but a moment of error was forced upon the GBN defense from the Kit’s high press strategy. This bad first touch was just enough for senior Joseph Sargent to break the opposing back line, and slip a ball past the goalie for the 11th win of the season. Before the whistle was blown, Hamer received his second yellow card, once again for reckless play, resulting in a red card and expulsion from the next game.
“It wasn’t pretty, it doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be effective,” Tobin restated from Calixte’s end-of-game speech.
The Kits go into their next game against Glenbrook South on Thursday with a total of 20 yellow cards. An IHSA rule states that no team with 25 or more yellow cards, can be eligible for playoffs. With 6 regular season games left to be played, the Kits are not worried about the team’s connection.
“I think our [team] chemistry is just unmatched in the high school level,” Tobin stated.
The worry lies within the amount of fouls the team seems to have accumulated. Nevertheless, the momentum remains strong as the team enters the next game.
