Fire-lit Randall scores thrice, assists twice as New Trier turns tables on Lane Tech

A little under a year ago, Addy Randall experienced “one of the worst days” of her life. She wasn’t going to let history repeat itself Wednesday night.

To support that effort, the New Trier junior quite literally relived her worst-day experience by watching film of Lane Tech’s 2-1 sectional victory that ended the Trevians 2025 season.

“I watched the game film from last year (on Tuesday night) and that kind of lit a fire under me — and all my teammates did the same thing,” Randall said postgame on Wednesday. “Last year they got the better of the 80 minutes and it was really disappointing. It was one of the worst days of my life, and that definitely is enough to get you going and you could tell all 25 of us felt the same way about that.”

The extra motivation powered a masterful performance from Randall, a Northwestern commit who scored three goals and assisted on New Trier’s two others in a 5-1 victory May 27 in Northfield.

The vengeful win pushed the Trevians (23-1-1) through to the IHSA Class 4A New Trier Sectional championship against rival Evanston (11-7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, May 29. The Wildkits toppled Loyola Academy 4-3 in the other sectional match on May 27.

Though the result was a four-goal margin, the Champions actually got the upper hand on the Trevians Tuesday with a goal 28 minutes into the contest.

Ten minutes later, though, Randall evened the count with a brilliant solo effort, working the ball around the far left side and into the goal box, where she got it to her right foot and ripped a shot near post.

“I saw the goalie cheating a little bit the other way (toward the far post) and hit it low and in the corner and it went in,” she said.

And that was just the beginning.

Randall booted a pair of goals within a minute’s time early in the second half — the first on a free kick from 30 yards out and the next off a Quinn Brahm feed, which Randall one-touched to her left foot and lasered into the back of the net from 20-plus yards away.

Trevians coach Jim Burnside praised the star’s performance, as well as those around her for enabling it.

“Addy Randall is a machine,” he said, “and she is able to do what she does because everyone around her is working hard and doing their jobs.

“She finds a way. When she makes that turn … she draws people to her and she is unselfish and gives it up, and if they sit a little bit and guard somebody else, she pounds one in the back of the net. That’s the type of player she is. I feel lucky to coach her.”

While it took the Trevians a bit to find the scoreboard, Burnside said it felt like only a matter of time before the floodgates opened.

“That’s what we needed to do. We needed to find a way to get on the end of (the ball), put something on frame, and that’s what we did in the second half,” he said. “We created chances, because our kids on the outside were working hard.” 

Randall led two more Trevians’ strikes before the day was done.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Randall slipped a through ball to a streaking Catherine Shean deep in Champions’ territory. In stride, Shean poked it past the keeper for her team’s fourth goal.

And with about 8 minutes left, Randall slid a pass to her left to Dami Balogun, who was making a left-side run. She gathered the ball and booted it near-post for goal No. 5.

“We kept going, kept knocking,” Randall said, “recognizing it was not going our way the first 25 minutes and if you keep trying, one of them is going to fall in.”

The Trevians will now look to capture their ninth sectional championship in the last 11 seasons and are on a quest for a second state title in three years.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.