NORTHFIELD — New Trier came into Thursday’s Central Suburban League South Division matchup with Glenbrook South with the gaudy 9-0-0 record and the top spot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.

That, however, doesn’t mean that the Trevians aren’t asking questions about themselves. How can they improve?  New Trier searches for that answer every time its steps onto the pitch.

The team got some of the answers it was looking for, especially in the second half, as it took down the visiting Titans 3-0 on a chilly April Fools’ Day.

“We showed how we can play against a physical opponent that wouldn’t let up,” New Trier senior midfielder Zach Moskowitz said. “This is probably one of the best defenses we’ve played. They’re very physical, very organized in the midfield and kept working. We kept our composure and got the breakthrough eventually.”

“They pressed really hard the whole time and didn’t give us time to do anything with the ball,” Glenbrook South junior Owen Beumer said. “We tried to play it out, and they’d stop it right away. We’d play a long ball, and they’d win it in the back. They’re really good 1-on-1 defenders.”

This edition of the Trevians, which according to coach Matt Ravenscraft may be the strongest he’s had in his tenure as head coach, has been a force on offense, outscoring their opponents 35-4 after Thursday’s win.

New Trier had a prime opportunity to break the ice in the fourth minute. Glenbrook South keeper Colin Morse missed a long send from the Trevians, and the ball rolled behind him. Krueger tried but couldn’t catch up, before it went over the endline just wide of the goal.

That wasn’t the only opportunity the Trevians had in the first half. Krueger just missed on a shot that hit the post, and another went wide left after he forced a turnover.

But it wasn’t only the Trevians (10-0-0, 2-0-0) who had opportunities in the first half. After settling in after the first 10 minutes or so, Glenbrook South (3-4-0, 0-2-0) had shots from Beumer and Arturo Moyo that were thwarted by New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford. A shot by Jeffrey Keating went high after he created a turnover.

“We need to finish our opportunities that we have on goal,” Beumer said. “We missed three in the first 10 minutes and if we put at least one of those in, it changes everyone’s mindset.”

Going into halftime, with the score 0-0, both teams knew that if they wanted to pull out the conference win, they needed to get something going.

“We just wanted to win,” New Trier senior midfielder Will Franzen said. “We emphasized that to each other; we huddled up, told each other to trust each other.”

“We noticed they (GBS) had a high line, so we told the front three to make runs in behind,” Moskowitz said. “Even if they didn’t get it, it’d push their defense and give more space for some of the other guys to operate.”

After each team had multiple opportunities in the first 10 minutes, New Trier’s  Franzen was finally able to capitalize with 24 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the match.