NILES, Illinois — The 2024 Northridge varsity soccer team etched its name into the record books Monday, capturing their first Independent School League conference championship in over a decade.

Taking home the conference title — in this league in particular — is no small feat. The Independent School League is widely regarded as one of the strongest soccer conferences in the state, featuring the defending IHSA 1A state champions in North Shore Country Day, along with Latin and U-High, who also have each won state titles within the last decade.

"We knew heading into the season that if we wanted to accomplish one of our goals of winning conference, we were going to have to be at our best," head coach Alvaro Vargas said. "And it all began at home."

The Knights were dominant on their home pitch at Maryville, scoring 11 goals themselves and conceding zero. Vargas credits his men for playing their roles to perfection.

"Our goalies were outstanding. The defensive work was brilliant. We also found ourselves dominating most games and creating chances because our midfield did a great job of protecting our backline while playing crucial passes to our forwards. Up top, we had great play and finishing which paved the way for our victories. The great play from all of our players gave our team confidence and showed our opponents and ourselves what we could do by playing at the highest level."

The 2024 season featured key wins against many of the traditional ISL powerhouse programs. Vargas pointed to victories against North Shore Country Day, Latin and Lake Forest Academy as being instrumental to the story of the season.

On the win over North Shore:

"The North Shore win was wild because, although we had created more than a dozen chances in the game to score in regulation, we won in the last minute of overtime with a goal from our senior defender, Emilio Borquez."

On the win over Latin:

"The Latin win was a great moment because we had not beaten them in over a decade. They are a well-coached and extremely disciplined group of players, but our talent and a great long ball from Mark James to Jacob Klatt broke their defensive line."

On the win over Lake Forest Academy:

"In the Lake Forest Academy game, our boys played with a lot of intensity, and we were finally able to score two goals in the second half because of great midfield control from Joey Mullen, Tommy Cartwright, Keller Karnes and Jairo Guerrero, leading us to our first win over Lake Forest in school history."

While the Knights hope the historic season doesn't come to an end any time soon, Vargas also recognizes it's important to acknowledge accomplishments as they come — and the people behind the scenes making it all possible.

"I cannot emphasize the role that Coach Jensen, Coach Lothian, and Coach Fernandes have played in our year being a success thus far," Vargas said. "I would also like to thank all our parents. This year we had many team gatherings after practices and games, which really helped solidify our bond as a team. Much gratitude goes out to the parents who made it to the meals and the generous families that hosted the get-togethers."

Northridge athletic director Will Rey commented on the historic conference win.

"Congratulations to our varsity soccer team and coaches. What an awesome accomplishment!" Rey said. "Once again, defense wins championships! Our defense has been stellar giving up only 6 goals in 10 conference games. We're proud of the entire team and especially the seniors whose hard work has made this a memorable season."

The accomplishment goes down as the Knights 13th conference championship in school history, and their second in the ISL.

The Knights now turn their attention to IHSA state tournament play, which is set to kick off Monday, Oct. 21 in Skokie.