Appetite alert!

Matchups don’t get much more delicious than the New Trier-Glenbrook North one that will be served at 7 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 19) in Northbrook.

Be sure to don an apron-sized bib before entering William Lutz Stadium for the Central Suburban League South Division showdown.

The teams last played last fall in a Class 3A state semifinal. Eventual-champion New Trier avenged a regular-season and its only loss of the season to the Spartans with a 2-0 victory.

Glenbrook North’s Spartans finished in fourth place, the program’s best state showing in 19 years.

“The talent of the CSL South was on display on the biggest stage last year,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said. “We’ve (the CSL coaches) felt for many years that our conference rivals any in the state in terms of talent and competitiveness, so it was a cool moment to have two CSL South schools battling in a state semifinal.

“Spectators on Thursday,” he added, “will see two teams that have technical skill and positional awareness. This game tends to bring out the best in both teams.”

New Trier enters the feast for eyes ranked ninth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25; Glenbrook North sits at no. 15, 10 spots higher than its previous rank.

The Trevians (5-2-2 overall) lost 1-0 to no. 2 Glenbrook South in its South Division opener Tuesday night. Glenbrook North (6-1-2, 1-0-0) defeated visiting Deerfield 7-0 behind four first half goals from junior forward Manny Salto.

“I think all CSL South games are considered rivalry games, because there is so much talent in the conference,” said Spartans coach and Glenbrook North graduate Paul Vignocchi, whose side edged host New Trier 2-1 last fall. 

“Our conference is loaded with quality.

“(You’ll see) two possession-based teams that like to move the ball and try to break the opposing team down.”

Glenbrook North has won its last five games, outscoring foes by a combined 23-2. New Trier and its pair of goalkeepers — senior all-stater Thomas Terry and junior Luke Hales — have allowed a scant four goals in nine contests.

Terry has five shutouts.

So does Glenbrook North senior keeper Gil Meyers, whose goals-against average dipped below 1.00 after Tuesday’s clean-sheet.

Salto’s monster game against the Warriors on Tuesday doubled his goal total to a team-leading eight. Senior midfielders Michael Miller (five) and Alex Ferencz (four), and senior back Brady Spiggos (four) have been solid contributors. 

Glenbrook North returning all-state defender Chase Petersen paces the Spartans in assists with seven, a mere three shy of his 2023 total.

His latest helper — off a scary-good throw-in that could have passed for an ignited cannonball — came in the 27th second Tuesday night.

New Trier senior forward Noah Capocchi has five goals and two assists through nine games. Classmate and midfielder Cole Driscoll has one goal and three assists.

“We have shown we have the ability to defend well, and we are extremely difficult to break down,” said Ravenscraft, who lauded senior backs Alex Kolanko and Linus Ho for having transitioned from minor roles last fall to the rigors of starting this year.

“They have been excellent,” Ravenscraft added. “They train at such a high level every day, and it is awesome to see that hard work pay off. They are positive guys and always stay locked in for 80 minutes.”

Glenbrook North deploys a balanced crew. The backs are as tough as the attackers are dynamic.

“We have some good depth, too, and having Gil back as our keeper is a nice safety net,” Vignocchi said. “We’re starting to find our groove. I love participating in the Barrington Classic (where his squad went 1-1-2) at the beginning of the year because it lets us know what we have to work on in order to improve. We continue to get better each day and continue to grow as a team.

“I like this group because it competes hard in practice every day.”

Ravenscraft would like nothing more than to watch his Trevians discover their groove in the attacking third.

“We can be dangerous on set pieces, but we need to create more scoring opportunities in the run of play,” he said. “We are looking for a few more guys to establish themselves as scoring threats.

“I am excited to see who emerges as the season unfolds.”

Footnotes

New Trier’s Ho provided the assist to then-sophomore forward Calyx Hoover on the Trevians’ second goal of their 2-0 defeat of Glenbrook North in a 3A state semifinal last fall in Hoffman Estates. Hoover, a member of the All-State Watch List, is unfortunately out for his junior season due to an injury. … New Trier finished 23-1-2 last year; Glenbrook North wound up 21-5-2. … New Trier’s state title last fall was the fourth in program history and first since 2008. … Vignocchi, on two of his pleasant surprises this campaign, senior midfielder Jacob “Kuba” Witorowski and junior midfielder Flynn Taylor: “I did not anticipate these players playing significant roles for us. Both have done a great job and do everything we are asking them to do.” … Vignocchi, on New Trier’s coaches: “The program has been successful because of the culture coach Ravenscraft and his staff create; (Ravenscraft’s) teams always play hard for him and they play good soccer.” … Ravenscraft, on Glenbrook North’s Spartans: “They are a well-coached, hardworking team with skill in every area on the pitch. They’ve shown that they have the ability to score goals. They are very dangerous on set pieces. We will need to control the tempo of the game through our possession, and we will need to execute set pieces at a high level for 80 minutes.” … In New Trier’s 3-0 defeat of host Hinsdale Central on Sept. 14. Kolanko and senior midfielder/forward Marco Jijon each netted a goal — their first at the varsity level. “That was a hard-earned win,” Ravenscraft recalled. “And it’s always a special moment, getting to celebrate a guy’s first varsity goal.”