New Trier overcame a slow start to defeat Lane Tech 4-0 Friday, May 20, and win the New Trier Regional, the Trevians’ 20th consecutive regional crown.

“They came out with a lot of energy and were physical and it’s hard,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “There’s always more pressure because the postseason is the postseason and nobody wants to end their season. Everybody’s scrapping and they came out and defended hard and made their defense hard and compact.”

“How we got to solve it is that we found ways to get around outside. Haley Yamada did a great job of turning the corner in the first half.”

Despite putting a lot of pressure on the Indians, New Trier wasn’t able to break through and put the ball into the net. The Trevians earned two corners in the game’s first six minutes and put three shots on goal, including one that a Lane defender slid to clear before it could go into the goal.

The Trevians put eight shots on goal, forcing the Lane keeper to make five saves before Sydney Parker put in a ball off a corner kick with 1:31 remaining in the first half.

“It’s the play I always run around our back,” Parker said. “Bina Saipi headed it and it came to my feet and it went far post and thankfully in for a goal.”

The second half played much like the first, with neither team gaining much traction, at least not enough to put the ball in the back of the net. New Trier managed two shots in the first 10 minutes of the half, but both went high.

“I think their speed definitely countered against us was very difficult,” Parker said. “I know when they got the ball in the midfield and they would bring it over or take it down the line, that was difficult for us, but we managed it well.”

Haley Yamada put in the Trevians’ second goal with 21:34 remaining in the match on a crazy play in front of the goal. Freshman Lily Conely tried a shot from about 30 yards out, only to have the shot saved by the goalie. Yamada, going for the rebound, got tangled up with the Lane goalie and had the ball trickle in.

Lane was called for a handball violation in the penalty box twice Friday, once in the first half and once in the second, resulting in New Trier penalty kicks. Celia Frei took the kick in the first half with 4:41 remaining but missed wide. Bina Saipi took the second penalty kick and the senior drilled it past the Lane goaltender, giving the Trevians a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore Nicole Kaspi would add a goal with 2:41 remaining to close out the scoring.

But as good as the Trevian offense ended up playing, the defense was even more stellar.

The New Trier defense didn’t allow Lane to get a shot on goal throughout the entire match and squashed the visitors’ best chance midway through the first half when a Trevian defended cleared the ball in the box, before the visitors had a chance to get a shot off.

“It shows that how hard we’ve worked in practice and how it transfers over,” Parker said about the defense. “How we play in games is how we practice and I think that coming out strong shows that we’ve done well in practice and that we’re able and capable of doing it to other teams in shutting them down.”

With the win, the Trevians move on to the Maine South Sectional, where they will play either Glenbrook South or Maine South on Tuesday, May 24. Loyola and Evanston are the other two teams remaining in the sectional and if the Trevians win Tuesday, they will face the winner of that matchup for the sectional crown on May 27.