Season recap: North Shore Country Day
By Kaleb Carter
North Shore Country Day’s four senior captains left their enduring mark on the program, albeit in circumstances they’ll not soon forget.
Following two state Class A championship game appearances in 2018 and 2019, the Coronavirus pandemic interrupted the Raiders’ remarkable run. In 2021, seniors Natalie Duquette, Jane Scullion, Zinzi Steele and Independent School League Player of the Year Eun Hae Lillig, advanced North Shore Country Day’s winning culture.
“I feel really, really good about the seniors, the leadership, the ideal, the way they’re leaving and the way they finished out their time,” coach Lizzy Giffen said.
The Raiders were co-champions of the Independent School League with a 4-1-0 league record and 5-3-1 mark overall.
“The shorter season definitely forced our team to make the most out of every practice and game,” Lillig said. “The limited games encouraged our team to give our best in every game. Given the circumstances of this season, I think it was pretty successful. Although we lost a lot of our starters from past years and were interrupted by COVID, we still came out with a good record in ISL.”
The shortened pandemic season was a blur.
“I think everybody got out of the season what they wanted to get out of it,” Giffen said. “We were able to play for about seven weeks; we were competitive. We had some really good games. We grew as a team, all positive things.”
New graduate Steele hardly knows what to do with herself after spending the last 14 years as part of North Shore Country Day School’s junior-kindergarten through high school educational model.
The Evanston resident found a home within the program after only taking soccer somewhat seriously. She had no aspirations for post prep athletic glory -- she will focus on academics at Middlebury College in Vermont -- but saw her enjoyment of the sport intensify the past four years.
“When I got to high school, I really enjoyed playing soccer,” Steele said. “I loved the high school sports experience, so I would say probably playing in high school I took it a bit more serious. … I was really engaged playing for the school.”
After seeing minutes off the bench as a sophomore in more of the traditional nine position or striker role, Steele’s focus was altered in her senior season.
“This year I had to do a lot more defending,” Steele said. “I developed some of those different skills.”
Having Steele adapt well to the role of a midfielder was just one change that Giffen was pleased with from the past season.
“You need those players to grow into themselves, into the sport, into the level that we’re playing and these three (Scullion, Duquette and Steele) have done that remarkably,” Giffen said. “Natalie and Jane anchored that back, and they have become really solid, strong defenders.
“Zinzi has really played truly an amazing role for us. She was playing forward as a sophomore behind Edith Edwards-Mizel who had 20-plus goals, so we were using her sporadically. She’s great at holding the ball. So this year because of some injuries, she was an attacking center midfielder.”
Wins over league rivals Latin (2-1) and Parker (4-3) stood out after the season.
“My favorite moment of the season was our big win against Latin,” Duquette said. “Even though I wasn’t able to play, I loved watching the team play and come together so early in the season.”
North Shore Country Day loses its star quartet but potentially returns 10 newly minted seniors next season.
“It’s always nice when you have older leadership, just wisdom in years. This year we had two sophomores and no freshmen,” Giffen said.
“I think Elle Stevenson and Lexi Jackson and Lindsay Glew (stood out). Alma Fitzgerald really came through for us; she was new for us we had never seen her play before, Anna Ristic was a really solid player who unfortunately got a pretty bad concussion against University (Chicago). There’s a core group of players to come back and be great leaders, and that’s really exciting.”
Many of those returning players were contributors or witnesses to the consecutive state title game appearances. The new graduates hope examples from those successes left an impression.
“What sticks out most in my mind about those two seasons is the team culture and attitude,” Lillig said. “We did not expect anything but rather made sure to earn our spots and give our best every game.
“I think this attitude and the close-knit nature of our team contributed to our success on the field. I also just have great memories of making it far in the tournament and having the opportunity to play great teams.”
The departing seniors share a feeling of accomplishment and a link to the North Shore Country Day soccer legacy.
“Even with a short season, I think the team was able to create a strong community and this definitely helped us win some our games,” Duquette, who plans to continue competition in numerous intramural athletic events as a college student.
“I think the four seniors this year have tried to encourage a team culture of hard work, fun, and teamwork,” said Lillig, who will continue her career at Kenyon College (Ohio).
“I think these values have always been part of North Shore girls soccer and us four seniors have just tried to maintain the culture built by previous classes.”
The next group of Raiders has been given a winning template to follow.
“I think that’s part of the legacy that we want to keep reminding people to have fun and have a good time and stay positive. There’s no reason to have a negative attitude or not lift up your teammates,” Steele said. “There’s always a reason to lift up your teammates.”
By Kaleb Carter
North Shore Country Day’s four senior captains left their enduring mark on the program, albeit in circumstances they’ll not soon forget.
Following two state Class A championship game appearances in 2018 and 2019, the Coronavirus pandemic interrupted the Raiders’ remarkable run. In 2021, seniors Natalie Duquette, Jane Scullion, Zinzi Steele and Independent School League Player of the Year Eun Hae Lillig, advanced North Shore Country Day’s winning culture.
“I feel really, really good about the seniors, the leadership, the ideal, the way they’re leaving and the way they finished out their time,” coach Lizzy Giffen said.
The Raiders were co-champions of the Independent School League with a 4-1-0 league record and 5-3-1 mark overall.
“The shorter season definitely forced our team to make the most out of every practice and game,” Lillig said. “The limited games encouraged our team to give our best in every game. Given the circumstances of this season, I think it was pretty successful. Although we lost a lot of our starters from past years and were interrupted by COVID, we still came out with a good record in ISL.”
The shortened pandemic season was a blur.
“I think everybody got out of the season what they wanted to get out of it,” Giffen said. “We were able to play for about seven weeks; we were competitive. We had some really good games. We grew as a team, all positive things.”
New graduate Steele hardly knows what to do with herself after spending the last 14 years as part of North Shore Country Day School’s junior-kindergarten through high school educational model.
The Evanston resident found a home within the program after only taking soccer somewhat seriously. She had no aspirations for post prep athletic glory -- she will focus on academics at Middlebury College in Vermont -- but saw her enjoyment of the sport intensify the past four years.
“When I got to high school, I really enjoyed playing soccer,” Steele said. “I loved the high school sports experience, so I would say probably playing in high school I took it a bit more serious. … I was really engaged playing for the school.”
After seeing minutes off the bench as a sophomore in more of the traditional nine position or striker role, Steele’s focus was altered in her senior season.
“This year I had to do a lot more defending,” Steele said. “I developed some of those different skills.”
Having Steele adapt well to the role of a midfielder was just one change that Giffen was pleased with from the past season.
“You need those players to grow into themselves, into the sport, into the level that we’re playing and these three (Scullion, Duquette and Steele) have done that remarkably,” Giffen said. “Natalie and Jane anchored that back, and they have become really solid, strong defenders.
“Zinzi has really played truly an amazing role for us. She was playing forward as a sophomore behind Edith Edwards-Mizel who had 20-plus goals, so we were using her sporadically. She’s great at holding the ball. So this year because of some injuries, she was an attacking center midfielder.”
Wins over league rivals Latin (2-1) and Parker (4-3) stood out after the season.
“My favorite moment of the season was our big win against Latin,” Duquette said. “Even though I wasn’t able to play, I loved watching the team play and come together so early in the season.”
North Shore Country Day loses its star quartet but potentially returns 10 newly minted seniors next season.
“It’s always nice when you have older leadership, just wisdom in years. This year we had two sophomores and no freshmen,” Giffen said.
“I think Elle Stevenson and Lexi Jackson and Lindsay Glew (stood out). Alma Fitzgerald really came through for us; she was new for us we had never seen her play before, Anna Ristic was a really solid player who unfortunately got a pretty bad concussion against University (Chicago). There’s a core group of players to come back and be great leaders, and that’s really exciting.”
Many of those returning players were contributors or witnesses to the consecutive state title game appearances. The new graduates hope examples from those successes left an impression.
“What sticks out most in my mind about those two seasons is the team culture and attitude,” Lillig said. “We did not expect anything but rather made sure to earn our spots and give our best every game.
“I think this attitude and the close-knit nature of our team contributed to our success on the field. I also just have great memories of making it far in the tournament and having the opportunity to play great teams.”
The departing seniors share a feeling of accomplishment and a link to the North Shore Country Day soccer legacy.
“Even with a short season, I think the team was able to create a strong community and this definitely helped us win some our games,” Duquette, who plans to continue competition in numerous intramural athletic events as a college student.
“I think the four seniors this year have tried to encourage a team culture of hard work, fun, and teamwork,” said Lillig, who will continue her career at Kenyon College (Ohio).
“I think these values have always been part of North Shore girls soccer and us four seniors have just tried to maintain the culture built by previous classes.”
The next group of Raiders has been given a winning template to follow.
“I think that’s part of the legacy that we want to keep reminding people to have fun and have a good time and stay positive. There’s no reason to have a negative attitude or not lift up your teammates,” Steele said. “There’s always a reason to lift up your teammates.”