New Trier reaches 5th-straight title match
Weaver, Hoban, Parker star in Trevians’ 4-0 semi win vs. Andrew
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Senior defender Nell Martin doesn’t start for New Trier, and she rarely gets to go forward.
But when New Trier coach Jim Burnside inserted Martin into the lineup Friday night as an outside midfielder, she knew exactly what to do.
Martin sprinted into the box and scored off a cross from Victoria Flanagan with 8:45 remaining in the first half of the Class 3A state semifinal against Andrew.
The goal was Martin’s first of the season and finished any chance the underdog Thunderbolts had of catching lightning in a bottle. Martin’s strike, which came just 32 seconds after senior
Teammate Sydney Parker scored for New Trier, gave the Trevians a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-0 Class 3A semifinal victory at North Central College.
New Trier (24-0-2) will play in the state championship game for the fifth-straight season. The Trevians will face defending state champion Barrington, which edged Naperville North 1-0 in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of the 2017 final which Barrington won on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw after 100 minutes.
While New Trier’s stars – Parker, Whitney Hoban and Emma Weaver – played at their usual high level, it was Martin who delivered the most noteworthy performance.
“It was amazing,” Weaver said. “Nell works so hard on and off the field, so to be able to see her one of those big-time goals is unreal.
“She’s a defender, but she’s so talented so she can go anywhere on the field.”
For someone charged with preventing goals, it was thrilling to score one, especially on such a big stage. Martin had one goal last season and entered this game with one assist this spring.
Yet she was right where she needed to be when Flanagan found her with a cross from the left wing. Martin booted it home from 15 yards.
“They don’t come very often,” Martin said of her goals. “It was amazing.
“It was Victoria who got the assist. She did all the work, and I was just there to tap it in.”
Martin was selling herself a little short there but her play was indicative of just how smart the Trevians are. They know what to do wherever they are.
“I kind of felt a little out of place at a forward (position), but I just remembered what I’ve heard (New Trier coach Jim) Burnside telling all the other forwards, just make sure you get in when someone takes the end line,” Martin said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and it was an amazing feeling. We needed that push.”
Indeed, it took the Trevians over 30 minutes to find their rhythm despite being gifted a 1-0 on an own goal in the second minute.
So Burnside looked prescient when he inserted Martin into the lineup. New Trier took a 2-0 lead when Parker crashed into the crease and headed home Weaver’s corner kick at the 9:17 mark.
Before the Thunderbolts (21-5-0) could get settled, Martin did her thing.
“She was playing outside mid but we push her forward when (need be), so that’s what these kids do,” Burnside said. “They make me look like a genius and the coaching staff look like geniuses, but we don’t know what we’re doing.
“But that’s what this team is. You look and say who is going to score what big goal at what time, and that goal was huge.”
Indeed, the goal took the suspense out of what everyone assumed would be a mismatch. Andrew, which broke its program record for wins when it upset Downers Grove North 2-1 in the supersectional, appeared in its first state semifinal, while the Trevians were making their eleventh visit in the past 16 years.
Things looked bleak for Andrew when the Thunderbolts put one in their own net just 1:53 into the game. Flanagan’s shot from the middle of the box rolled into the right post and a defender, who had nobody around her, misplayed it into the net.
But the floodgates did not open as expected. The Thunderbolts actually had the better of the run of play over the first 15 minutes, using their speed to pressure the New Trier defense.
Andrew nearly got the equalizer in the seventh minute when Erin Jaskierski raced past a defender on the left wing and fired a shot that New Trier goalie Meghan Dwyer, who came 17 yards off her line, barely got a piece of, sending the ball trickling wide of the far post.
“We gave up that goal early and believe it or not it woke the girls up a bit,” Andrew coach Loren Zolk said. “I think it also relieved some of the pressure because then they kind of get to play loose.
“We started to open the game up a little bit and get the ball out of the middle and get it wide and get it forward and that’s when we started to create a few chances. Then it’s like, ‘Oh, wait, maybe we can actually stay in this game.’”
The Trevians said they weren’t surprised.
“We knew they would be a good team,” Weaver said. “This is the Final Four so we knew we needed to play our game – possess and get end line – and I think once we started to do that, that’s what got us some goals.”
Weaver, who was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match after registering two assists, was right about that.
The sophomore handles all of the corner kicks for New Trier, which forced three-consecutive corners in the 31st minute. The third one was the charm, with Parker sending a power header into the upper 90 for her 17th goal, which, amazingly for a defender, ties her with senior forward Nicole Kaspi for the team lead.
“They are absolutely deadly on corner kicks,” Zolk said. “We can mark to the best of our ability, and they’re going to find a way to slip one through.
“We gave them three or four in a row and by the third one I was like ‘We cannot keep doing this, because it’s going to hurt us.’
“Minus those corners, we were fairly even, but if you’re not going to pick up your marks and stay goal-side on corners, teams like this will kill you.”
The Thunderbolts weren’t giving chances away. They made New Trier adjust.
“I think we were definitely settling into the game, and I think what really turned the corner for us is switching the field and not forcing it up the middle where they had all their bodies,” Martin said. “We saw that space and tried to go to it, and we switched the field.”
Once the Trevians turned on the switch, it never went off. Hoban scored on another great header off a Weaver corner kick with 28:55 left in the second half and only a great diving save by Andrew goalie Gabriella Sportiello prevented Kaspi from making it 5-0 two minutes later.
Dwyer finished with five saves, including a diving effort to parry an Alex Dennis shot around the post with five minutes to go; she left the game after getting shaken up with 3:08 left.
Backup Courtney Charchut finished the game between the pipes, making one additional save on a header from Dennis with 55 seconds left.
“(The Thunderbolts) were super-athletic and super-quick,” Burnside said. “They had great speed, and we knew they were going to be a good team. I think our girls held up real well under their pressure.”
The Thunderbolts held up well, too and made a game of it. Andrew will play Naperville North for third place Saturday and return to Tinley Park with the program’s first state trophy.
“We obviously need to redeem ourselves and the girls have proven a few times this season that they bounce back pretty well,” Zolk said. “They have a short memory so they will have forgotten about this by the time they get on the bus. And they will be ready to come back tomorrow and battle one last time together.”
Meanwhile, the Trevians return to the stage for the biggest battle. Yet Weaver is savoring every historic moment. New Trier is just the second school in state history to reach the championship match five-consecutive seasons.
“I’m honored to be a part of this team,” Weaver said. “It’s truly an unforgettable experience to be here.
“We don’t take it for granted at all. We work every second in practice and in games to be here. These are my best friends out here, so it’s just unreal.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Meghan Dwyer
D Caroline Iserloth
D Meredith Nassar
D Jose Crumley
D Sydney Parker
M Victoria Flanagan
M Nicole Basil
M Lily Conley
M Emma Weaver
M Whitney Hoban
F Nicole Kaspi
Andrew
GK Gabriella Sportiello
D Addison Lim
D Allison Jensen
D Nicole Koppers
D Mia Milazzo
M Megan O’Neill
M Emma Lehnert
M Samantha Termunde
F Samantha Koppers
F Megan Nemec
F Erin Jaskierski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Emma Weaver, so., M, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier – own goal 38:07
New Trier – Sydney Parker (Emma Weaver) 9:17
New Trier – Nell Martin (Victoria Flanagan) 8:45
Second half
New Trier – Whitney Hoban (Weaver) 28:55
Weaver, Hoban, Parker star in Trevians’ 4-0 semi win vs. Andrew
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Senior defender Nell Martin doesn’t start for New Trier, and she rarely gets to go forward.
But when New Trier coach Jim Burnside inserted Martin into the lineup Friday night as an outside midfielder, she knew exactly what to do.
Martin sprinted into the box and scored off a cross from Victoria Flanagan with 8:45 remaining in the first half of the Class 3A state semifinal against Andrew.
The goal was Martin’s first of the season and finished any chance the underdog Thunderbolts had of catching lightning in a bottle. Martin’s strike, which came just 32 seconds after senior
Teammate Sydney Parker scored for New Trier, gave the Trevians a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-0 Class 3A semifinal victory at North Central College.
New Trier (24-0-2) will play in the state championship game for the fifth-straight season. The Trevians will face defending state champion Barrington, which edged Naperville North 1-0 in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of the 2017 final which Barrington won on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw after 100 minutes.
While New Trier’s stars – Parker, Whitney Hoban and Emma Weaver – played at their usual high level, it was Martin who delivered the most noteworthy performance.
“It was amazing,” Weaver said. “Nell works so hard on and off the field, so to be able to see her one of those big-time goals is unreal.
“She’s a defender, but she’s so talented so she can go anywhere on the field.”
For someone charged with preventing goals, it was thrilling to score one, especially on such a big stage. Martin had one goal last season and entered this game with one assist this spring.
Yet she was right where she needed to be when Flanagan found her with a cross from the left wing. Martin booted it home from 15 yards.
“They don’t come very often,” Martin said of her goals. “It was amazing.
“It was Victoria who got the assist. She did all the work, and I was just there to tap it in.”
Martin was selling herself a little short there but her play was indicative of just how smart the Trevians are. They know what to do wherever they are.
“I kind of felt a little out of place at a forward (position), but I just remembered what I’ve heard (New Trier coach Jim) Burnside telling all the other forwards, just make sure you get in when someone takes the end line,” Martin said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and it was an amazing feeling. We needed that push.”
Indeed, it took the Trevians over 30 minutes to find their rhythm despite being gifted a 1-0 on an own goal in the second minute.
So Burnside looked prescient when he inserted Martin into the lineup. New Trier took a 2-0 lead when Parker crashed into the crease and headed home Weaver’s corner kick at the 9:17 mark.
Before the Thunderbolts (21-5-0) could get settled, Martin did her thing.
“She was playing outside mid but we push her forward when (need be), so that’s what these kids do,” Burnside said. “They make me look like a genius and the coaching staff look like geniuses, but we don’t know what we’re doing.
“But that’s what this team is. You look and say who is going to score what big goal at what time, and that goal was huge.”
Indeed, the goal took the suspense out of what everyone assumed would be a mismatch. Andrew, which broke its program record for wins when it upset Downers Grove North 2-1 in the supersectional, appeared in its first state semifinal, while the Trevians were making their eleventh visit in the past 16 years.
Things looked bleak for Andrew when the Thunderbolts put one in their own net just 1:53 into the game. Flanagan’s shot from the middle of the box rolled into the right post and a defender, who had nobody around her, misplayed it into the net.
But the floodgates did not open as expected. The Thunderbolts actually had the better of the run of play over the first 15 minutes, using their speed to pressure the New Trier defense.
Andrew nearly got the equalizer in the seventh minute when Erin Jaskierski raced past a defender on the left wing and fired a shot that New Trier goalie Meghan Dwyer, who came 17 yards off her line, barely got a piece of, sending the ball trickling wide of the far post.
“We gave up that goal early and believe it or not it woke the girls up a bit,” Andrew coach Loren Zolk said. “I think it also relieved some of the pressure because then they kind of get to play loose.
“We started to open the game up a little bit and get the ball out of the middle and get it wide and get it forward and that’s when we started to create a few chances. Then it’s like, ‘Oh, wait, maybe we can actually stay in this game.’”
The Trevians said they weren’t surprised.
“We knew they would be a good team,” Weaver said. “This is the Final Four so we knew we needed to play our game – possess and get end line – and I think once we started to do that, that’s what got us some goals.”
Weaver, who was named Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match after registering two assists, was right about that.
The sophomore handles all of the corner kicks for New Trier, which forced three-consecutive corners in the 31st minute. The third one was the charm, with Parker sending a power header into the upper 90 for her 17th goal, which, amazingly for a defender, ties her with senior forward Nicole Kaspi for the team lead.
“They are absolutely deadly on corner kicks,” Zolk said. “We can mark to the best of our ability, and they’re going to find a way to slip one through.
“We gave them three or four in a row and by the third one I was like ‘We cannot keep doing this, because it’s going to hurt us.’
“Minus those corners, we were fairly even, but if you’re not going to pick up your marks and stay goal-side on corners, teams like this will kill you.”
The Thunderbolts weren’t giving chances away. They made New Trier adjust.
“I think we were definitely settling into the game, and I think what really turned the corner for us is switching the field and not forcing it up the middle where they had all their bodies,” Martin said. “We saw that space and tried to go to it, and we switched the field.”
Once the Trevians turned on the switch, it never went off. Hoban scored on another great header off a Weaver corner kick with 28:55 left in the second half and only a great diving save by Andrew goalie Gabriella Sportiello prevented Kaspi from making it 5-0 two minutes later.
Dwyer finished with five saves, including a diving effort to parry an Alex Dennis shot around the post with five minutes to go; she left the game after getting shaken up with 3:08 left.
Backup Courtney Charchut finished the game between the pipes, making one additional save on a header from Dennis with 55 seconds left.
“(The Thunderbolts) were super-athletic and super-quick,” Burnside said. “They had great speed, and we knew they were going to be a good team. I think our girls held up real well under their pressure.”
The Thunderbolts held up well, too and made a game of it. Andrew will play Naperville North for third place Saturday and return to Tinley Park with the program’s first state trophy.
“We obviously need to redeem ourselves and the girls have proven a few times this season that they bounce back pretty well,” Zolk said. “They have a short memory so they will have forgotten about this by the time they get on the bus. And they will be ready to come back tomorrow and battle one last time together.”
Meanwhile, the Trevians return to the stage for the biggest battle. Yet Weaver is savoring every historic moment. New Trier is just the second school in state history to reach the championship match five-consecutive seasons.
“I’m honored to be a part of this team,” Weaver said. “It’s truly an unforgettable experience to be here.
“We don’t take it for granted at all. We work every second in practice and in games to be here. These are my best friends out here, so it’s just unreal.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Meghan Dwyer
D Caroline Iserloth
D Meredith Nassar
D Jose Crumley
D Sydney Parker
M Victoria Flanagan
M Nicole Basil
M Lily Conley
M Emma Weaver
M Whitney Hoban
F Nicole Kaspi
Andrew
GK Gabriella Sportiello
D Addison Lim
D Allison Jensen
D Nicole Koppers
D Mia Milazzo
M Megan O’Neill
M Emma Lehnert
M Samantha Termunde
F Samantha Koppers
F Megan Nemec
F Erin Jaskierski
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Emma Weaver, so., M, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier – own goal 38:07
New Trier – Sydney Parker (Emma Weaver) 9:17
New Trier – Nell Martin (Victoria Flanagan) 8:45
Second half
New Trier – Whitney Hoban (Weaver) 28:55