Warning to all forwards who play the New Trier girls soccer team this season: Watch out for Trevians junior center back Sydney Parker. At just over 5-foot-9, Parker is a force to be reckoned with.
“She’s gotten into the weight cage and is one of the strongest players on the team,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “She’s also very athletic.”
Added senior center back Sam Urban: “I’m always very comfortable with her next to me. Everyone in the stands knows Sydney Parker and how hard she works. Nothing ever stops her. Gritty and feisty.”
Parker said it’s important to play tough on defense.
“We don’t want them (opposition) to run over us,” Parker said. “We try to play physical every game, on and off the ball.”
Parker and Urban controlled the back line during New Trier’s 2-0 victory over Brookfield Central, the top-ranked Division 1 team in Wisconsin, on Saturday in Northfield.
The duo shut down the Lancers’ offense for large parts of the game. Urban was constantly running down Brookfield Central forwards, while Parker was menacing in the final 20 yards.
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“She (Parker) is a solid, physical player,” Brookfield Central coach Daniel Makal said. “A focal point in the back.”
New Trier sophomore midfielder Lily Conley opened the scoring just a minute into the second half with a chip shot over the Brookfield Central goalie’s head from 8 yards out. With just over 13 minutes left in the game, freshman Emma Weaver curled a shot into the back of the net from 12 yards out.
Trevians senior goalkeeper Katy Symanietz recorded the shutout with three saves. New Trier (5-0) finished with a 14-1 advantage on corners against Brookfield Central (1-1), while the two Lancers goalies combined for 11 saves.
Parker’s success has come after she overcame some adversity. The summer prior to her freshman season, Parker tore the ACL in her left knee when she was going for a 50-50 ball.
“I knew when I got up something was wrong,” said Parker, a Winnetka resident. “It was a lot of hard work in physical therapy to get back.”
She returned in time to play on the Freshman A team for the last month of the season. She continued to work hard the following offseason, according to Burnside, and earned a starting spot on last year’s team, which won the Class 3A state title for the third year in a row.
“What I love about her is that she wasn’t happy to be on that (freshman) team, so she worked and made a commitment to be on the varsity the next season,” Burnside said. “She came out and worked her tail off rehabbing and hasn’t stepped off the field since.”
Parker is more than just a strong defender. She scored nine goals last season and already has four this year. She is the target on New Trier’s set pieces and corners because of her ability to head the ball. Burnside praised Parker’s foot skills, which she showed off in the first half against Brookfield Central, dribbling past a defender and then crossing a ball that junior Nicole Kaspi nearly converted.
Parker, who has played for the past five seasons for the FC United club team, said she is talking to some Big Ten schools about continuing to play soccer after high school.
Mark Perlman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press