Sometimes the hardest part of being a youth soccer coach is to make sure the players aren’t fighting over what position they will play.

Just the opposite occurred for Carl Sandburg’s Seventh-Grade Soccer Team this year. Players knew what they were best at and were willing to step aside when someone more talented could play a certain position. This unselfish team-first attitude not only made things easier for Head Coach Nick Ciko and Assistant Coach Gene Skura, but it resulted in a Lake Side Athletic Conference Championship - Sandburg’s first since 2023.

“These kids came in with a ton of talent,” Ciko said. “And we had role players. We had some of our best players wanting to play defense. They all kind of knew what they were good at and they were all pretty unselfish. It was so easy from my end to coach them.”

The team, technically a co-ed group (but with all boys this year), finished the regular season undefeated with two ties. One of those ties, a 1-1 game, came against rival Northwood Middle School of Highland Park. Northwood won the conference championship last year and Carl Sandburg had beaten them in the 2023 title game.

The CSMS Tigers were confident throughout the year with an expectation to win every game, Ciko said. Still, the title game on Oct. 6 in Highland Park was going to be their biggest challenge. Northwood was last year’s champ and the Tigers were unable to beat them during the season.

But Sandburg, led by star player Sebastian Hernandez, struck first. He scored a header goal from the corner in the opening minutes of the championship game. Sparked by the play, Sandburg scored four more goals to take a 5-0 halftime lead. They won the championship game 6-1. Hernandez scored three goals in the title game after scoring four in the semi-final victory the previous day.

After their 6-1 victory, the team took a big victory lap around the field and then celebrated with their parents. On Friday, Oct. 16, the team will take a victory lap around the school halls to celebrate with their classmates.