Early battle of unbeaten rivals goes to Trevians

You won’t find a hungrier busier bunch than New Trier soccer around a loose ball near the goal.

It’s nothing new. The Trevians under longtime coach Jim Burnside are known for their success on restarts, especially corner kicks. It’s such a New Trier thing in fact, Burnside wonders if it will stay with him forever.

“It’s going to be on my gravestone: ‘They were pretty good at corners,'” he said with a smile. “Well, first, ‘good husband and father’ and then that.

“They have an attitude, a mindset. They are like bees coming out of the hive. They just keep buzzing in there until they get to the ball — until it’s over the end line.”

The Trevians stung rival Loyola Academy with their trademark on Wednesday, April 15, scoring the all-important second goal on a corner-kick scrum midway through the second half of a 4-0 victory in Northfield.

The matchup was an early-season gem, as both teams were unbeaten coming into the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic semifinal. New Trier (9-0-1), though, scored three goals in an eight-minute span in the second half to bury the Ramblers (7-1-1).

“Our girls really calmed into the game and started to feel what they were able to do and find their spots,” Burnside said. “When you’re trying to find the kinks in the armor of a really good, really athletic team, that’s hard. It takes some time.”

For the Trevians it took about 38 minutes to break through. Star junior Addy Randell made it happen with a highlight-reel goal, bending a shot from the far left side into the far-post side net.

Randell scored a second goal and added an assist in the second half.

She also played a role in New Trier’s corner-kick goal, serving the ball to the head of Claire Gallagher, whose shot was blocked but ricocheted in front of the net. Sophomore Catherine Shean got to it and sent it into the net.

“Our talk at halftime was about capitalizing on what’s in front of you and going out there and giving it our best and I think everyone stepped up,” said Shean, who also scored the Trevians fourth goal, also off a Randall cross.

It wasn’t all about the Trevians attack. Goalkeeper Annie Fowler and New Trier’s defense were up to the challenge all night.

Fowler made seven saves, including a pair of diving blocks, which Burnside said set the tone for the successful night.

“The saves of Annie Fowler, it gets you into a rhythm,” he said. “I thought our defense was stellar tonight. Eleni (Kanellos), Claire (Gallagher) and Annie were full on bending and not breaking and allowing our offense to get the attack they needed.”

All are returners for the Trevians, who again field an experienced — other returners include juniors London McCaffrey, Noa Boeing and Dami Balogun — and balanced group with major expectations. New Trier has already posted big wins against Warren, Stevenson and Lane Tech and advance to the tournament’s championship game at noon on Saturday, April 18.

New Trier won a state championship in 2024 and had an early-for-New-Trier exit in the sectional a year ago. Shean said they remember.

“After last year, we’ve had a chip on our shoulder and the mindset is stronger,” she said. “Everyone is out there giving everything they have for the person next to them. Every game we come in with a fresh mentality all about winning the first 50/50 ball and then winning every one after and then winning the game.”

Loyola Academy also has wins against Stevenson (3-2) and Lane Tech (1-0), and the matchup with New Trier was the Ramblers fifth game in seven days.

“The girls have been through a lot in the past few days, but this was a playoff atmosphere tonight and great experience for some of our younger players and some lessons we can carry forward the rest of the year,” Loyola coach Shannon Hartinger said.

Lily Berhalter, Emma McCulough, Keira Shaffer and Macy Schultz have led the way for the Ramblers hot start, but Hartinger credited all eight of her players who returned from a senior-heavy group a year ago.

“It’s been a great start. We graduated so many seniors last year and they’ve come together quickly (this season),” she said. “We probably have exceeded expectations early in the season. Tonight is disappointing because it’s not a good representation of what we’ve done up to this point.”

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