Evanston Unity Soccer Festival reaches new heights

Elliott Hurtig said he was playing soccer at James Park when he noticed how the fields were divided, each with different cultures and ethnicities. He decided it did not have to be that way.

A decade later, the Evanston Unity Soccer Festival has evolved to become a city staple, bringing soccer players from all over to build community and play the game they love. The festival, Hurtig’s brainchild, hosted its 10th annual event on Saturday, July 13, at the Robert Crown Community Center. The event reached new heights as 61 teams participated across 20 fields in three divisions.

Each group was named after a Civil Rights activist: the Marley division was for the youngest players seeking a competitive game, the Chavez division was for players between 30 to 45 years old and the MLK group was for older players who just wanted some friendly soccer.

Saturday saw a wide range of teams take the field. There were restaurant squads like Campagnola and Zentli, a Wisconsin team that traveled from Madison, and a City of Evanston team composed of local government officials including Mayor Daniel Biss, City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza and Ninth Ward Council Member Juan Geracaris.

The event is entirely not for profit and aims to raise money for scholarships for kids whose families are in financial need. This year, the festival tripled the amount of scholarships awarded. The recipients of this year’s scholarships hailed from Venezuela, Ethiopia and Jamaica. 

Hurtig said he lives by the motto “the goals are not the goal.” The score is not kept, and games are officiated by the players. Hurtig emphasized the objective is to have fun and build community and “people get that.”

The Unity Soccer Festival assembled a formal 12-person board three years ago that helps with organizing the fields and recruiting teams. While the organizers reach out to different ethnic and cultural groups around the area, most of the festival’s advertising is achieved through word of mouth. 

“We have a lot of soccer tentacles that reach out and bring people in,” Hurtig said.

Nole Abbott is one of the organizers who has been at Hurtig’s side since the beginning. Abbott is a board member and was primarily responsible for assembling Saturday’s schedule. He said planning for the festival starts almost a year in advance and was particularly busy in the days leading up to the event. 

Abbott said he has seen the festival become more professional over the years, with a more formal sign-up and scheduling process. It has also been able to expand since moving from Kamen Park to the Robert Crown Community Center three years ago. He said going forward, the board would like to have more spectators at the event to watch and celebrate Evanston’s diverse soccer community.

The festival’s growth is most evident in the increase of female players. This is intentional; Hurtig and the rest of the festival’s board made an effort to advertise more to women’s groups throughout Evanston. Abbott said he and many in the group that has played together for more than 20 years have daughters and that through watching them they have been inspired to bring more women into the fold.

“My hope is that we’ll get more and more of these girls who are playing the game to stay with the game and one day end up coaching the game, because we definitely need more women coaches and refs,” Hurtig said. “It is time the women are more accepted in the adult world of soccer, and we hope this is a good launching pad for that.”

New to the festival this year was the Northwestern University women’s team. Hurtig said the team’s presence encouraged and excited younger girls who were eager to see and play against college athletes. Northwestern’s team won the ‘Best Newcomer’ award. 

Fifth-year Northwestern forward Elyse DeSchryver heard about the festival last year but since most of the team was not in Evanston last summer, they were unable to compete. This year, however, the team arrived just in time, as the festival served as the first time some of the Wildcats had played with the incoming freshmen. 

DeSchryver said the event served as a great team bonding activity and the team is already looking forward to participating again. While there may be no official scoring at the festival, high-level athletes like DeSchryver have a hard time blocking out that part of the game.

“We all know what the score is and we want to win games, so this is definitely not something we’re used to as college athletes, but I am still coming back from my second ACL injury so it’s nice to get touches on the ball without it feeling super intense. It’s a good balance,” DeSchryver said.

Carlos Muñez has also dealt with injuries throughout his career and concurred that the relaxed environment at the festival was a relief. Muñez is originally from Madrid, Spain, but stayed with Hurtig as an exchange student when he was younger. He came back to the U.S. in 2022 to get his degree and now lives in Lakeview. 

Muñez’s teammates were all from Spain and met during their exchange program years ago. He said soccer in the U.S. is a completely different experience from what he and his teammates were used to. Youth soccer is much more physical in Spain, whereas here it is more tactical and technical, according to Muñez. Beyond the pitch, Muñez noted how much more expensive soccer is in the U.S.

“I appreciate this initiative, not just for raising money for low-income families to be able to play soccer, but because the values you learn playing a team sport are essential in everyday life,” Muñez said.

Looking toward the future, Hurtig said he wants even more female representation and scholarship opportunities. These goals are what make the Unity Soccer Festival one of Evanston’s most popular community events.

“We are building community by playing the game we love,” Hurtig said. “A lot of things are going on in the world today that keep people divided and from having fun, but today is the antidote to that.”