The Loyola and New Trier girls soccer teams were even during the first 60 minutes of the PepsiCo Showdown championship match.
Their defenses were both stout and error-free. Their goalies were solid. Their midfielders battled each other in the center of the field, moving the ball and defending well. Both teams’ forwards couldn’t solve the opposing defense.
Then, the game shifted on Sunday, April 24, in Chicago. New Trier, which won 1-0, played its best when it mattered most. The Ramblers didn’t.
“They took it to us for 20 minutes — and credit to them,” Loyola coach Craig Snower said. “That’s fitness. That’s determination. They got us on those today.”
Fitness is one area Snower said the Ramblers must improve upon in order to beat the two-time defending Class 3A state champions if the teams meet in the postseason. It didn’t help that Loyola had its prom the night before the PepsiCo Showdown final.
New Trier ended the Ramblers’ season in 2014 and 2015. In both sectional finals, the Trevians scored on restarts. They did it again when sophomore center back Sydney Parker knocked in a header with 11:42 remaining.
The cracks in Loyola’s defense began to show before Parker scored, however. The Ramblers began to give away free kicks in dangerous areas. New Trier junior forward Natalie Laser, a Southern California commit, also was left open near the top of the box. Her well-struck shot sliced just wide.
The Trevians earned their only two corners of the match in the span of about a minute before they scored. The second corner led to Parker’s goal.
“We lost our defensive discipline, which led to us being out of position, which led to the set pieces, which led to the goal,” Snower said. “That one, we got a first clear and we did a real poor job of stepping up and pushing them offside. We left Parker, who’s a dangerous person. She was identified (before the game) and we screwed it up. And they make you pay.”
The Ramblers’ loss to New Trier was their second straight defeat. Loyola’s record dropped to 13-2-2. It lost to St. Charles East 2-0 in group play of the Naperville Invitational on Friday, April 22.
“You know what? This week’s a great little note to us,” Snower said. “It just shows us what we’ve got to work on the next four weeks. No one’s ever going to remember this. It’s all about the playoffs.”
Snower added that a potential rematch between Loyola and New Trier — if they meet again in the Maine South Sectional — will feel completely different. The Ramblers won’t be coming off of prom and New Trier will likely have all-state forward Kelly Maday (left ankle) back in its lineup.
To win a potential rematch and make a deep postseason run, Loyola’s offense also must generate goals.
The Trevians’ defensive approach against the Ramblers was to defend as a team and continue to pressure Loyola’s skilled attacking players — a group that includes all-state senior forwards KK Phelan and Devin Burns, sophomore Stephanie Ramsey, senior midfielder/forward Shannon Powers and all-state senior outside back Alex Yasko.
It was imperative, Parker and New Trier center defensive midfielder Avery Schuldt both said, to prevent the Ramblers from getting behind the Trevians’ defense.
“We basically wanted to keep the pressure because if we let them turn and face up to goal, they’re very good on their feet (in) one-on-ones,” Schuldt said. “So when we pressured them from behind and didn’t let them turn, we’re more reassured that they couldn’t get a through ball in or couldn’t beat us one-on-one (to get) to goal.”
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The Ramblers have been shut out in four games this season, losing two of them and earning two ties.
“There’s no reason for us to ever be shut out,” Snower said. “I don’t care who we’re playing. We shouldn’t lose a game 1-0. … (The attacking players) have got to find a way to put one in the net there.”
Snower added: “We found it out now. Better to find it out now than in four weeks (during the postseason). We’ll be ready for the next one.”
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @VanDrilSports