Highland Park cruises to conference title

Updated: October 13, 2011 12:07PM

Momentum is hard to define though easy to spot. Highland Park realized right away they possessed it in droves.

In the inaugural Central Suburban League soccer championship, the Giants rode the momentum of scoring three goals in a 13-minute stretch of the first half to wipe out host Evanston 6-0 Tuesday night.

Six different players scored for the Giants. “We have a good group,” senior midfielder Andrew Chang said. “We don’t depend on just one person to score for us. We have a lot of guys that can play, a lot of guys that are dangerous and we really know how to spread the wealth.”

Highland Park is now 9-0-1 in its last 10 games.

Junior midfielder Frankie Rios started the onslaught when he perfectly lofted a left-footed 18-yarder that curled into the far post in the 9tb minute of the first half.

The Giants (15-3-1) maintained the pressure against the Wildkits. Senior forward Ricardo Rodriguez extended the lead to 2-0 when he rebounded a shot into the right corner. Moments later, Chang closed out the first half barrage by scoring on a penalty kick.

Highland Park senior keeper Justin Ozodore, a Nigerian-born transfer who played at Amundsen a year ago, made several spectacular saves. He made two diving stops in the first half that stymied the Wildkits (14-5-2). The shutout was his eighth of the year. “He’s a special player, and people are just now beginning to understand how good he is,” Highland Park coach Blake Novotny said.

He certainly captured the notice of Evanston coach Franz Calixte. “I think once our players saw the kinds of stops he made, they thought they’d really have to make a special play just to score,” he said.

“I mean he made just some sensational stops, ricochet, rebounds, that really impacted the game.”

Highland Park turned the game into a rout with second half goals by Michael Chang, senior Oscar Pozo and senior Jordan Kohn scored in the second half. “I think everybody on our team has at least one goal, even the defenders,” Michael Chang said.

“This is probably the best team we’ve faced this year,” Calixte said. “This happens sometimes in soccer, where one team has the momentum, and where one team, like us, doesn’t take advantage of the scoring opportunities. They had shots than we did, and they obviously had a much higher conversion rate.

“I’m not disappointed, but I am embarrassed by the score,” he said.

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