New Trier completes dominant season, posts 19th shutout to claim third straight state title

It’s not always easy being a New Trier field hockey player, and that’s by design.

The Trevians schedule the state’s best teams and take road trips to play some of the nation’s best.

“Sometimes I question if it’s a good idea creating the hardest schedule possible,” New Trier coach Brittany Romano said. “. … We never want anything to be easy. The more I can challenge them the better.”

That strategy has helped the Trevians maintain juggernaut status following Romano’s replacement of retiring hall-of-fame coach Stephanie Nykaza in 2024.

And with a 2-0 victory over Lake Forest on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Glenbrook North High School, the Trevians won their third straight Illinois High School Field Hockey Association championship. The three-peat gives New Trier 19 state titles, seven of which have come in the last eight years.

Senior Kayla Chudgar, a University of Pennsylvania commit, opened the scoring in the second quarter, ripping a shot into the box off a short corner, and Chudgar tallied again in the fourth quarter, knocking a loose ball high into the net, to put the game away.

Romano gave a lot of credit to Chudgar and the other nine seniors.

“We have 10 seniors who are truly best friends who have been doing this together for many, many years,” she said. “The culminating experience (in the state championship) was amazing.

“And that it was Lake Forest was so perfect. The New Trier-Lake Forest field hockey rivalry is so old and they are of course the most formidable opponent in our history.”

Romano said the team’s motto this season was “Prove It,” a level of motivation for the defending champs that came in ranked No. 5 in the country (Max Field Hockey).

Senior middle defender Libby McCalla, a Villanova recruit, said the coach challenged the Trevians, saying that the ranking was based upon previous results. New Trier finished 25-1, the only loss coming to New Jersey’s Oak Knoll (3-2), another nationally ranked program.

“Romano said New Trier field hockey is sixth, not this team yet,” McCalla said. “Prove it. This is a new team, a new year, prove you are who you were last year and even better. The state title really proved it and we had such big wins during the season,” like a 3-2 victory over ranked Villa Maria Academy out of Pennsylvania.”

New Trier also twice bested recent nemesis Glenbrook North, the last state champ other than the Trevs (2023).

In the title bout, McCalla and her peers recorded New Trier’s 19th shutout of the 26-game season.

In total, the Trevians only allowed 11 goals all season — and just two in the final 12 contests.

“It’s definitely all a team effort,” McCalla said of limiting opponent scoring chances. “It starts with forwards and then everyone behind them. Communication is super important, lining up the girls in front of you and being conservative defensively, not overcommitting when receiving and passing. It’s a lot of field hockey IQ, making smart passes and taking some risks, but not too big of risks.”

McCalla and Chudgar are two of seven Trevians seniors moving on the play college field hockey, Romano said. Caroline Dellin will play at Indiana University and Grace Borgman at Brown.

Despite their serious talent, the senior group never took themselves too seriously, Romano said — in a good way.

“I have to highlight this senior group … they are fun loving and silly,” she said. “… This group recognized the joy they bring is part of what made New Trier field hockey so great the past few years. They love being there and love being on the team.

“It’s not just a group that knows how to have fun. They are hard workers who had their eyes set on a state championship.”

Of course more talent is on the come-up, and New Trier returns starting goalie Lina Alberts and center Claire Halasz, a University of Michigan commit, among others.

“Replacing them next year is going to be really tough … but they taught the younger players some valuable lessons,” coach said. “They really showed them what it means to be a senior. You gotta work for it.

“It’s sad to lose them but they are leaving the program in good hands.”

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