In instant classic, New Trier scores OT goal to conquer Loyola, claim state championship

It was nothing New Trier senior Ellie Bornhoeft hadn’t seen before.

In fact, she had seen it over and over again. So when Bornhoeft had an open-turf view from eight meters in overtime of the state championship, she was ready.

Even if she started from her non-preferred hash mark.

“It’s a mental battle, and I’ve come across it many times,” she said. “We’ve been doing free-position game situations in practice for the past month. It was not the hash I wanted, but I didn’t care. I had to score the goal and I had confidence in myself in that moment.”

Hearing the whistle, Bornhoeft took off and for a split second thought of looking for one of her teammates, but the moment was in front of her and she took advantage.

Bornhoeft sprinted to goal, raised her stick high and then released the ball backside, low and into the net to give the Trevians an 8-7 victory against Loyola Academy on Saturday, June 7, at Hinsdale Central. It was New Trier’s third IHSA title and seventh state championship overall.

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“She just attacked it,” New Trier coach Pete Collins said. “She knew what she had to do and she’s had that shot in other games.”

It was the first meeting between New Trier and Loyola — the state’s most elite programs — since IHSA began hosting the state series in 2018. The past four seasons the two powers met in the sectional championship, and the last two meetings went to the Ramblers, who eventually won the state title each year.

A reworked postseason schematic this year placed the teams on opposite ends of the playoff bracket, and they didn’t disappoint. The Ramblers brought a 24-2 record (with no in-state losses) into the grand finale, and the Trevians a 23-3 record (with its only in-state loss to Loyola, 12-8, on April 8).

Collins called it a storyline that “you can’t make up.”

“We just said (to our team) you have a chance to do something special, to leave a legacy,” he said. “This game is a celebration and you have a chance to become one of the best teams in the history of our school so embrace it.”

New Trier did just that from the opening whistle, grabbing a lead with a Riley Nolan goal only 90 seconds into the contest.

The Trevians and Ramblers traded punches for a while. Loyola’s Molly Dwyer scored three times, and Bornhoeft twice as New Trier took a 5-4 lead into the fourth quarter.

Goals from Sonja Keneally and Meghan Riley gave the Trevians a 7-4 lead, the first real separation of the evening, with under 7 minutes to play.

But Bornhoeft knew the game was far from over.

Sure enough the Ramblers found the net three times (Grace Dwyer twice, Annie Devine once) in four minutes to knot the score and force overtime.

“In our circle, I told the team they are going to score,” she said of Loyola’s comeback. “It is a game of runs, and honestly I knew we were going to get it back.

“It was probably going to overtime; we have seen it so many times. But we were ready to face it head on, and I had confidence with our coaches that we’d be able to pull it out.”

With around 2 minutes to play in the extra stanza, the Ramblers fouled to give the Trevians a man-up opportunity.

Not long after, Bornhoeft took a skip pass, attacked and drew a shooting-space violation to set up a free-position attempt.

She buried it to send the Trevians into a frenzy.

Both Bornhoeft and Collins credited assistant coach Charlotte McGuire for setting the team’s mantra all season as “thrive, not survive,” especially under pressure.

The Trevians had to accomplish that just a day earlier, overcoming a 5-1 deficit against state host Hinsdale Central to advance to the title bout.

During the epic championship clash, they were ready for anything.

“This team just knew what it took, earlier in the season they didn’t know,” Collins said. “Winning early games is not the same as winning late. (At state) we knew what we were going to do and we knew what Loyola was going to do. We were ready.”

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