Evanston and Loyola Academy are separated by just 5.3 miles on Chicago’s North Shore, so when the neighborhood rivals meet it is sure to be a heated battle.

Tuesday’s battle in Wilmette between the Wildkits and Ramblers proved to be no different as the two squads fought to a 0-0 tie in both teams’ fourth game of the season.

“Their defense did a really good job of keeping it tight and marking us and stopping our runs when we had the chances,” Loyola’s Devin Burns said.

It didn’t look like it would be that way at the start of the match when Loyola’s Stephanie Ramsey’s shot went just wide 10 seconds into the contest.

But it was Evanston that controlled the majority of the first half, putting a lot of pressure on Loyola’s stout defense and not allowing the Ramblers’ offense to get on track.

“We were sluggish today and we have to figure out why,” Loyola coach Craig Snower said. “We prevented ourselves from getting our opportunities today.’’

Loyola came into Tuesday’s match having outscored its previous three opponents 12-0 following a 2-0 win over highly-ranked St. Charles North on March 19. But after Ramsey’s shot, Loyola (3-0-1) managed just one shot the rest of the first half, while the Wildkits put up seven shots, three of which were on goal and saved by goalie Maggie Avery. Avery would finish with five saves, including a key diving one with 6 minutes, 58 seconds, remaining in the first half.

“This year’s defense is all about leadership,” Snower said. “It’s [Laura] Chrisman, it’s [Alex] Yasko, who has started for four years. Moving Riley Burns back to defense gives us the big time athlete we need back there and she saved a couple today.”

The tide seemed to turn in Loyola’s favor early in the second half as the roles reversed, with the Ramblers being the aggressor. Loyola earned three corners in the first five minutes of the second half, two in the first 2:40. While each attempt was thwarted, Loyola, which came into the match ranked 18th nationally by The USA Today, looked ready to take the lead.

“It felt like we didn’t come out to play as much,” Devin Burns said. “I feel like if we came out harder, we’d probably be able to beat them, but they played really hard and a great game.”

Loyola’s best chance in the second half came when Devin Burns was taken down right outside the box, allowing Shannon Powers to take a free kick with 19:36 on the clock. The shot was saved by the Evanston goalie, ending the scoring threat.

The Ramblers were able to shut down Evanston star Maia Cella, who Snower had some high praise for.

“Today, you look at Ryan Flanagan, who started for us at center back last season and today we put her on to man mark Maia Cella, probably the only player in the state we would man mark and who I believe to be maybe the best player in the state and you didn’t hear much from Maia,” Snower said.

“Today’s defense with the back line and the effort by Ryan, which maybe that affected our offense too, making that change, but when you play a player as special as Maia, you’ve gotta make sure she doesn’t beat you.”

Loyola had a final chance with 2:52 remaining thanks to another corner by Chrisman but it was cleared by an Evanston defender and neither team had another real scoring chance the rest of the match. The Ramblers finished with five corner kicks on the night.

“A game like this teaches us we need to always come out hard and ready to play.” Devin Burns said.

Loyola has not lost to Evanston in 13 years.

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