Stingy New Trier keeps rolling along
Trevians remain unscored upon after 3-0 win over St. Ignatius
By Gary Larsen
NORTHFIELD -- New Trier posted 20 shutouts in 28 games during last season’s run to a Class 3A state title game, and the girls in back have picked up where they left off for the 2018 edition of the Trevians.
New Trier’s 3-0 win over visiting St. Ignatius on Wednesday kept the Trevians unscored upon for the season. Backline captains and seniors Sydney Parker and Caroline Iserloth are back to lead a defense that again figures to stop opposing attacks in their tracks.
On-field familiarity breeds good soccer, and central defender Parker and outside defender Iserloth are simpatico.
“There isn’t a defender on this team I don’t feel comfortable with, but I’ve been playing with Caroline for six years now, here and on club, and we’ve always been next to each other,” Parker said.
Coaches love players they can put in the lineup and not worry about, and New Trier coach Jim Burnside has two of those in back in Parker and Iserloth.
“They can lead, and we don’t have to coach them much,” Burnside said. “They’re coaches on the field. They have different strengths, but their intangibles are the same — competitiveness, aggressiveness, and things like that.”
The Trevians got goals from Nicole Kaspi and Lily Conley in the first half and one from Grace Walker in the second in improving to 4-0-0. St. Ignatius fell to 6-1-1 after its first loss of the season.
New Trier took a 1-0 lead before the 20-minute mark on a Kaspi free kick from 30 yards. The Trevians doubled their lead when a ball deflected from inside the St. Ignatius penalty area and squirted out to Conley.
The junior midfielder gave the ball a quick touch before lofting a shot from 25 yards that flew under the crossbar at 33 minutes. Through 40 minutes, perennial Class 3A state power New Trier had St. Ignatius back on its heels, giving the Class AA Wolfpack a valuable lesson.
“It was a great opportunity. We’re glad to be here and glad they hosted us,” St. Ignatius midfielder Grace Campbell said. “They’re the biggest challenge we’ve faced so far this year, and I think we learned a lot about what it means to come out flat. When you start a game off flat like that, you put yourself in a really bad position.”
Wolfpack midfielder Ella Richards started the second half with a sweet spin-move at the 18 and a shot that one-hopped into the hands of New Trier keeper Megan Dwyer.
Trevians midfielder Warshauer earned a corner kick shortly thereafter, and midfielder Emma Weaver sent that kick to the goalmouth in the 33rd minute. The ball found the carpet and Walker was on the spot to bury it from point-blank range, giving the Trevians, who are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, their final 3-0 advantage and a 10-0 edge in scoring over their four opponents thus far this season.
In his 21st season as head coach, Burnside is no stranger to a team’s typical struggles with early-season play; it’s usually a long road to offensive sharpness and this year’s attack has only just begun the journey.
“We did some good things, and we’ve got some things to work on,” Burnside said. “I love our attitude and across some of the kids we’ve got a real nice attacking nature. And we have room to grow, which I’m happy about. But we need to take better care of the ball. Too many times, we were trying to hit the home run ball, and we need to take care of the ball.”
Chasing a 3-0 deficit, St. Ignatius found more of its attack for the remainder of the second half. Wolfpack forward Maura Murphy hit the crossbar with a shot at 64 minutes, and St. Ignatius did coach Sean Palacios proud in the second half in the face of New Trier’s high work rate.
“You can never simulate the pressure you’ll get in a game and (New Trier) brought a ton of pressure,” Palacios said. “We had to play a little faster, not overthink things, and take care of our details while our opponent is coming live and fast. They handled it well, and it got better as the game went on. The second half was more us.”
Palacios has been pleased with the play of an experienced team that went into Wednesday’s game without a loss.
“Like any season, it’s about putting it together at the right time,” he said. “But to be 6-1-1 and have our first loss against a team like (New Trier), it’s a good learning experience. And it’s going to prepare us for our conference, which is totally reloaded and and a handful to deal with.”
St. Ignatius plays in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division, where the likes of Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 teams Loyola, Fenwick and St. Francis await.
Campbell likes her side’s chances in the GCAC this season.
“We’ve been very successful in switching the ball and keeping the ball this year and overall, I think this is our best offensive team since I’ve been here,” Campbell said. “It’s really exciting, and this team has a great energy already.”
New Trier's Parker brings a physical presence, quick decisions, and organizational abilities that shined throughout Wednesday’s game and earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. She and Isleroth were joined in Wednesday’s starting backline by Nell Martin and Meredith Nassar.
“We always (graduate) people, but we always have good people stepping into those spots,” Parker said. “We lost Sam (Urban) and Megan (Murdoch), but we have Nell and Meredith, who are just as gritty and competitive. Our back is strong, and it’s been strong for a couple of years.”
The Trevians will rely on that backline and keepers Dwyer and Courtney Charcut as the attack finds consistency. The Trevians returned their top four scorers from last year in Kaspi, Parker, Weaver, and Hoban so Isleroth sees it as a simple matter of time before the offense is clicking.
“I think it always starts out this way, every season, and it’s hard at first because it’s always a new group of people,” Iserloth said. “But we’ve improved already since the first game.
“Emma Weaver is playing well, and I think (midfiellder) Whitney (Hoban) is stepping up a ton. Whitney has really taken the role of winning every single ball out of the air, and playing really good defense.”
The Trevians will open the second annual edition of the high-powered tournament they host with Loyola on Saturday. New Trier welcomes 19th-ranked Lyons in the newly coined Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic. Last year the co-hosts finished third after losing 2-1 to eventual champion Naperville North.
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Megan Dwyer
D Sydney Parker
D Caroline Iserloth
D Nell Martin
D Meredith Nassar
M Lily Conley
M Whitney Hoban
M Emma Weaver
M Fallon Warshauer
F Grace Walker
F Nicole Kaspi
St. Ignatius
GK Emma Thompson
D Rachel Ryan
D Abbie Gupta
D Allie Laurenson
D Sam Ritter
M Maura Murphgy
M Grace Campbell
M Shay Reifert
M Adrian Williams
F Hailey Laurenson
F Ella Richards
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sydney Parker, sr., D, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier — Kaspi (FK); Conley (UA)
Second half
New Trier — Walker (UA)
Trevians remain unscored upon after 3-0 win over St. Ignatius
By Gary Larsen
NORTHFIELD -- New Trier posted 20 shutouts in 28 games during last season’s run to a Class 3A state title game, and the girls in back have picked up where they left off for the 2018 edition of the Trevians.
New Trier’s 3-0 win over visiting St. Ignatius on Wednesday kept the Trevians unscored upon for the season. Backline captains and seniors Sydney Parker and Caroline Iserloth are back to lead a defense that again figures to stop opposing attacks in their tracks.
On-field familiarity breeds good soccer, and central defender Parker and outside defender Iserloth are simpatico.
“There isn’t a defender on this team I don’t feel comfortable with, but I’ve been playing with Caroline for six years now, here and on club, and we’ve always been next to each other,” Parker said.
Coaches love players they can put in the lineup and not worry about, and New Trier coach Jim Burnside has two of those in back in Parker and Iserloth.
“They can lead, and we don’t have to coach them much,” Burnside said. “They’re coaches on the field. They have different strengths, but their intangibles are the same — competitiveness, aggressiveness, and things like that.”
The Trevians got goals from Nicole Kaspi and Lily Conley in the first half and one from Grace Walker in the second in improving to 4-0-0. St. Ignatius fell to 6-1-1 after its first loss of the season.
New Trier took a 1-0 lead before the 20-minute mark on a Kaspi free kick from 30 yards. The Trevians doubled their lead when a ball deflected from inside the St. Ignatius penalty area and squirted out to Conley.
The junior midfielder gave the ball a quick touch before lofting a shot from 25 yards that flew under the crossbar at 33 minutes. Through 40 minutes, perennial Class 3A state power New Trier had St. Ignatius back on its heels, giving the Class AA Wolfpack a valuable lesson.
“It was a great opportunity. We’re glad to be here and glad they hosted us,” St. Ignatius midfielder Grace Campbell said. “They’re the biggest challenge we’ve faced so far this year, and I think we learned a lot about what it means to come out flat. When you start a game off flat like that, you put yourself in a really bad position.”
Wolfpack midfielder Ella Richards started the second half with a sweet spin-move at the 18 and a shot that one-hopped into the hands of New Trier keeper Megan Dwyer.
Trevians midfielder Warshauer earned a corner kick shortly thereafter, and midfielder Emma Weaver sent that kick to the goalmouth in the 33rd minute. The ball found the carpet and Walker was on the spot to bury it from point-blank range, giving the Trevians, who are ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, their final 3-0 advantage and a 10-0 edge in scoring over their four opponents thus far this season.
In his 21st season as head coach, Burnside is no stranger to a team’s typical struggles with early-season play; it’s usually a long road to offensive sharpness and this year’s attack has only just begun the journey.
“We did some good things, and we’ve got some things to work on,” Burnside said. “I love our attitude and across some of the kids we’ve got a real nice attacking nature. And we have room to grow, which I’m happy about. But we need to take better care of the ball. Too many times, we were trying to hit the home run ball, and we need to take care of the ball.”
Chasing a 3-0 deficit, St. Ignatius found more of its attack for the remainder of the second half. Wolfpack forward Maura Murphy hit the crossbar with a shot at 64 minutes, and St. Ignatius did coach Sean Palacios proud in the second half in the face of New Trier’s high work rate.
“You can never simulate the pressure you’ll get in a game and (New Trier) brought a ton of pressure,” Palacios said. “We had to play a little faster, not overthink things, and take care of our details while our opponent is coming live and fast. They handled it well, and it got better as the game went on. The second half was more us.”
Palacios has been pleased with the play of an experienced team that went into Wednesday’s game without a loss.
“Like any season, it’s about putting it together at the right time,” he said. “But to be 6-1-1 and have our first loss against a team like (New Trier), it’s a good learning experience. And it’s going to prepare us for our conference, which is totally reloaded and and a handful to deal with.”
St. Ignatius plays in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division, where the likes of Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 teams Loyola, Fenwick and St. Francis await.
Campbell likes her side’s chances in the GCAC this season.
“We’ve been very successful in switching the ball and keeping the ball this year and overall, I think this is our best offensive team since I’ve been here,” Campbell said. “It’s really exciting, and this team has a great energy already.”
New Trier's Parker brings a physical presence, quick decisions, and organizational abilities that shined throughout Wednesday’s game and earned her Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors. She and Isleroth were joined in Wednesday’s starting backline by Nell Martin and Meredith Nassar.
“We always (graduate) people, but we always have good people stepping into those spots,” Parker said. “We lost Sam (Urban) and Megan (Murdoch), but we have Nell and Meredith, who are just as gritty and competitive. Our back is strong, and it’s been strong for a couple of years.”
The Trevians will rely on that backline and keepers Dwyer and Courtney Charcut as the attack finds consistency. The Trevians returned their top four scorers from last year in Kaspi, Parker, Weaver, and Hoban so Isleroth sees it as a simple matter of time before the offense is clicking.
“I think it always starts out this way, every season, and it’s hard at first because it’s always a new group of people,” Iserloth said. “But we’ve improved already since the first game.
“Emma Weaver is playing well, and I think (midfiellder) Whitney (Hoban) is stepping up a ton. Whitney has really taken the role of winning every single ball out of the air, and playing really good defense.”
The Trevians will open the second annual edition of the high-powered tournament they host with Loyola on Saturday. New Trier welcomes 19th-ranked Lyons in the newly coined Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Classic. Last year the co-hosts finished third after losing 2-1 to eventual champion Naperville North.
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Megan Dwyer
D Sydney Parker
D Caroline Iserloth
D Nell Martin
D Meredith Nassar
M Lily Conley
M Whitney Hoban
M Emma Weaver
M Fallon Warshauer
F Grace Walker
F Nicole Kaspi
St. Ignatius
GK Emma Thompson
D Rachel Ryan
D Abbie Gupta
D Allie Laurenson
D Sam Ritter
M Maura Murphgy
M Grace Campbell
M Shay Reifert
M Adrian Williams
F Hailey Laurenson
F Ella Richards
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sydney Parker, sr., D, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier — Kaspi (FK); Conley (UA)
Second half
New Trier — Walker (UA)