When one thinks about Illinois high school girls lacrosse, two schools come to mind: Loyola Academy and New Trier. 

The Ramblers have won eight straight titles, including five over the Trevians, and only dropped one game to an Illinois team since 2010 (a 2014 loss to New Trier). In that same time frame, the Trevians have dropped 13 in-state games (including the state playoffs), 11 of which were to Loyola.

The Ramblers continued their success on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, as they held off the Trevians 18-12 in front of a large crowd on a beautiful night at Loyola’s Munz Campus in Glenview.

“After the state championship and the rivalry we have, plus having two seniors just tear their ACL, it was a huge moment to play for them and it all came down to heart,” Loyola senior Madison Kane said. “The way we came out in the second half showed our heart.”

On a field featuring 10 seniors who will play collegiate lacrosse, including nine at the Division I level, New Trier senior Isabelle Sennett, who is set to play at Amherst next season, got the scoring started, putting a ball into the Loyola goal at the 23:36 mark thanks to an assist from Lucy Murray. Murray picked up her second assist 51 seconds later when Sophia King put in another goal for a quick 2-0 New Trier lead.

It took the Ramblers (15-2) a little time to get adjusted to the Trevians’ pressure, but got on the board with 17:46 remaining on a goal by Grace Clarke. Freshman Sophia Rucker evened things up at two at the 14:52 mark with a free position goal. 

The Trevians weren’t to be denied, however, peppering Loyola goalie Delaney Oliveira before grabbing a 3-2 lead on King’s second goal with 12:20 remaining in the half. Murray picked up her third assist on the goal. 

The lead wouldn’t stand however, as Kane scored the first of her five goals off another assist by Brennan Dwyer and Elizabeth Walker scored on a free-position shot. 

The teams continued to trade goals, including another goal by Walker with 27 seconds left in the half to tie the score at five. New Trier got goals from Katherine Gjertsen and Murray to temporarily give New Trier (12-2) a lead before Walker’s equalizer.

“I thought we turned the ball over too much in the first half and we probably could have had a lead at half,” New Trier coach Pete Collins said. “A good team, you can’t give them extra opportunities.”

After giving up the most goals they had given up to an in-state team all season in the first half alone, the Ramblers came out strong in the second, scoring three times in the first minute, 53 seconds to give them a lead they wouldn’t let go.

“We had to make a few adjustments and the way we were running our offense, we just had to tweak our offense against the defense they were running against us,” Loyola coach John Dwyer said. “Once we got that figured out, we got that confidence. Once we got those first draws, we were able to do more.”

Kane, who scored two of the four goals, thought it may have been something a little different.

“I think our nerves from the first half shook off and coming out of halftime, we really wanted this game and our determination showed.”

The Trevians held Loyola’s leading scorer, Dwyer in check in the first half, but the senior scored two of the first three goals of the half.

“We made some adjustments on defense at half, but they have a lot of scorers,” Collins said. “They got some momentum and our girls got a little out of sorts, but if you take away those four minutes of the half and a couple things bounce our way, it’s a little closer of a game.”

After going 5-0 in a tournament in Colorado April 20-22, the Ramblers got some bad news when key seniors Mary Dooley and Katie Enrietto went down with torn ACLs, the first time in all of Dwyer’s coaching career he had lost players to in-season injuries.

“We went back to what Father Matt Foley said to us before we played these guys in the state championship last season, that you have to play for each other,” Dwyer said. “We’re playing for those two kids. Every one of them has their initials on their wrist for the two girls. It’s a special motivation for them.” 

Losing Dooley and Enrietto meant others would have to step up in their place.

“Our mentality is ‘next man up’ and we really try to push each other to get better,” Kane said. “The reality has set it that everyone is up for any position and you have to push everyone, especially the younger kids, so they get more confident.”

After Gjertsen scored a goal to cut the lead to 9-6 at the 19:09 mark, Loyola scored the next four goals, and five of the next six, to give it a 14-7 lead. Libby Germano scored three goals in the run.

“Playing the level of competition we have has made us better and made us able to handle the pressure,” Kane said. “They’ve given us confidence because we’ve been able to hang with those teams.”

Dwyer added four goals for the Ramblers, while Gjertsen and Murray both scored four for the Trevians.