Trevs stymie Ramblers for sectional upset

A mad dash toward the goal nearest Evanston Township High School and a subsequent rush to a jubilant student section capped New Trier’s thrilling 7-4 victory over top-seeded Loyola Academy in a IHSA boys lacrosse sectional final on Friday night in Evanston.

New Trier (14-7) nearly led the whole contest. The game was tied briefly at 3-3 in the third period before the Trevians raced back ahead with goals from senior Walker Chessen and junior Gavin Schnizlein.

Teddy Martay notched a critical goal early in the fourth to extend the Trevian lead to 6-3 just as Loyola Academy had started to apply more pressure.

“That was an enormous momentum swing,” New Trier coach Adam Dickson said. “They had started to press a bit more. We hadn’t had much of a rhythm on offense. We felt like we were in a good spot where we just needed to possess the ball a bit more.

“Honestly as (Martay’s) going to the cage we’re thinking, ‘Is this the right decision?’ He hadn’t had that many shifts this game and he sees his moment. He came on the field and he had the confidence to see they weren’t playing him and just push it to the cage and make a big play.”

Trevian sophomore Ben Sullivan wove around and through the Rambler defense for a score with 4 minutes 22 seconds to go to put the Trevians up 7-4, putting the bow on the victory. Thomas Wolfberg netted Loyola Academy’s final goal with 7:57 remaining.

“One of our biggest themes on this team is not being the thermometer, just being the thermostat, controlling the temperature of the game,” Chessen said. “It’s a game of runs. They’ll score three and we’ll score three. Coach, he goes on and on about controlling the temperature, being the thermostat. That’s something that this team does so well. We were able to do that in the game when the calls weren’t going our way.”

The sectional’s No. 2 seed, the Trevians advance to the supersectional round to face Glenbard West, the No. 1 seed in its sectional, at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Hoffman Estates High School. Glenbard West beat York 10-5 to advance to Tuesday’s matchup.

The Trevians Graham Hazday stood tall between the posts in the third and fourth quarters, thwarting what appeared to be golden opportunities for the Ramblers.

He and the experienced Trevians defense repeatedly held their ground.

“I think our ride is what really helped us a lot in that whole game,” New Trier senior Nolan Naggatz said. “They turned over the ball so many times and we limited transitions. Transitions were a big no-no for us in the first game, I think it was six goals from transitions, so we limited all that and played our game and that was wraps.”

There were long stretches where New Trier held possession and turned Loyola Academy over quickly.

“Our defense is young, but they have a lot of experience,” Dickson said. “A lot of these guys were starters last year. So having them, they’ve been in this moment before, they were ready for it. They came up big. The communication was really, really good. Certainly some amazing saves down a man, fastbreaks, everything, gave us the ball back and they gave us a chance.”

The Trevians yielded three unanswered goals late in the first period to early in the third, with Loyola Academy’s Griffin Oiler scoring the tying goal off an assist by Jackson McCain with 9:21 left in the third.

In order to get things going back in their favor, the Trevians needed strong play from the man in the middle.

“Some great faceoff play from (junior) Carlisle Strening,” Dickson said. “He’s a guy that has worked really hard to perfect his craft this year and step into position that (was held by) a senior this year, Aaron Pressman, best faceoff guy in the state, he hasn’t played all season. He (hurt) his knee in the offseason so for him (Strening) to come in as a new varsity guy in that role and really seize the moment and scrap and find a way helped give us some possessions.”

Following the Trevians two-goal answer in the third period, the Ramblers couldn’t respond.

“We just didn’t have it today,” Loyola Academy coach Rob Snyder said. “We didn’t play well. New Trier played great, but we just didn’t have it today. First quarter we were slow. We just weren’t part of the game. It was really strange.”

After withstanding a pair of Ramblers shots on goal to begin the contest, the Trevians held possession for much of the rest of the first period, snatching an early 3-0 lead off two goals by sophomore Declan Shannon (each assisted by Sullivan) and another score by Chessen.

The Trevians withstood a barrage of Ramblers opportunities on a power play late in the first half before Cody Reilly scored with the Trevians down to four defenders to make it 3-2 before the end of the second.

Senior Drew Schwitzenberg scored Loyola Academy’s first goal early in the second.

Loyola Academy finished the season 16-4.

“This is a sudden ending. It’s sudden,” Snyder said. “We lost a game. We’re done. So now it’s like, what do you say to them? How do you help them? What can you say to ease how much it hurts? You can’t. You can’t really say much to anything to them. A lot of it is thank you … you’ve got better things … stuff like that to help these guys through is very difficult.”

Dickson and Chessen both voiced how starting faster early in games is key for the Trevians moving forward.

“Early in the season we struggled coming out flat-flooted,” Chessen said. “We had a couple early losses. We had to come out with that energy every time. Our coach made it very clear, we have to bring the swagger every game. That was our theme, know that we’re so talented and we’re so much better than everyone if we come out ready to win, ready to go. I’m confident to say we’re the best team in the state. We’re ready to be back in that position and we’re ready to take it all.”

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