Junior forward Emmanuel Calixto, often one of the smallest players on the field, is used to being overlooked during games for Eisenhower.
At least at first.
“People look at me and they think I’m probably not going to do too much,” Calixto said. “But when they see me with the ball, it’s a different thing.”
Calixto again showed what he can do with the ball, scoring two goals and adding an assist Wednesday as host Eisenhower rolled to a 6-0 victory over Tinley Park in a South Suburban Conference crossover.
Christian Casillas, Jose Moreno, Andres Perez and Calixto’s older brother, Jesus, also scored goals for the Cardinals (1-0-1, 1-0 SSC Red).
Brayden Carroll made 15 saves for Tinley Park (0-4, 0-1 SSC Blue).
Emmanuel Calixto scored the first two goals, the first coming less than two minutes into the game.
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On his second strike, he showed off his dynamic skills, breaking out a spin move and dribbling around three defenders before slamming his shot into the back of the net.
“You always have to keep trying even if things get tough and you’re by yourself against a lot of defenders,” Calixto said. “Just make it work.”
Soccer has not always come naturally to Emmanuel. In fact, he hated the thought of playing the game when he was younger and his brother, Jesus, got involved with the sport.
“My dad played and he got my brother into it,” Emmanuel said. “I didn’t want to play at first. I was lazy. I kind of got forced into playing. But I gave it a try and I ended up liking it.”
Eisenhower is sure glad he did.
Last year, Emmanuel Calixto scored 17 goals in his first varsity season. He’s become the Cardinals’ go-to player on offense, according to sophomore defender Roman De la Torre.
“Emmanuel’s very outstanding,” De la Torre said. “Everyone wants to give him the ball. As soon as he gets the ball, he knows what to do with it. He controls the game.
“He’s not very selfish, either, but he’s selfish when he has to be. He’s a good role model who makes us want to step up to play like that.”
The Cardinals led just 2-0 at halftime before heating up for four goals in the second half.
“We started out slow in the beginning,” Eisenhower coach Iran Rodriguez said. “At halftime, we had a little bit of a pep talk. We were sort of playing down to their level and we’re better than that. We came out strong in the second half.”
Casillas and Jesus Calixto scored just 28 seconds apart to extend the lead to 4-0. Emmanuel Calixto assisted on his brother’s goal.
Tinley Park, meanwhile, did not have a shot on goal.
Gerardo Valle and Evan Summers had the Titans’ best scoring chances, both firing high on shots in the second half.
Eisenhower’s back line of De la Torre, Eric Contreras and Rodrigo Cisneros, meanwhile, made things easy for goalkeeper Guillermo Vences.
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De la Torre is already a captain as a sophomore.
“It’s very surprising because we have a lot of seniors, but it’s a good opportunity for me to be their captain and shoulder a big responsibility for them,” De la Torre said. “We’re all brothers here. We all try to help each other out.”
While De la Torre leads in back, the Cardinals know they can rely on Emmanuel Calixto up top.
“He’s dynamic,” Rodriguez said of Emmanuel. “It’s hard for anyone to really stop him. He’s our goal scorer, there’s no doubt about that.
“He knows he needs to be a leader and get his teammates involved, and that’s what he’s doing.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.