NORTHFIELD — New Trier’s Kitty Kenyon scored with 15 seconds left in overtime to give the Trevians a thrilling 2-1 victory over two-time defending state champion Lake Forest in the Illinois High School Field Hockey Association state finals Saturday afternoon.
“It was a one-timer that I just swept in,” said Kenyon, a senior. “I had to take a step back and look up at the clock. I’m speechless.”
Kenyon was set up by a feed from junior Rose Gorski in the penalty box area.
“I thought, ‘Just hit it [Kenyon],’ and she did. It was great,” Gorski said.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation, with both goals coming in the first half. Lake Forest (18-3-1) opened the scoring on a rebound by sophomore Libby Thompson off a shot by junior Sheridan Weiss at the 8:42 mark. New Trier (21-2-1) answered six minutes later when junior Sofia Crnkovich found the back of the net off a pass from senior Lindsay Hackett.
The Trevians lost twice to the Scouts during the regular season, with both games decided by one goal.
“It was a really good game. How it should be for the state finals,” Lake Forest coach Melanie Walsh said. “It shows you it’s hard to beat a good team three times. But just to be in the state finals is something special.”
Both teams had opportunities in overtime, but the goalies — New Trier’s sophomore Therese Cooney and Lake Forest’s Kerry Lawler — were up to the task.
New Trier coach Stephanie Nykaza, who has won nine state titles in her 25 years with the Trevians, almost missed the winning goal.
“I was starting to go over my lineup for the shoot-out and I looked up and saw Kitty’s shot,” Nykaza said. “It felt great.”
She added, “These guys [Lake Forest] were really good.”
The third-place game between Lake Forest Academy and Oak Park-River Forest went into a shootout after a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime, with Lake Forest Academy prevailing, 5-3.
This story has been changed to reflect the following correction:
The article flip-flopped the player who scored New Trier’s first goal and the player who assisted on the goal. Junior Sofia Crnkovich scored off a pass from senior Lindsay Hackett, not the other way around.
