New Trier soccer gets right back up after loss to GBS

New Trier soccer’s opponents last week were fierce enough, but Mother Nature decided to add another challenge to the difficult schedule.

With temperatures reaching 90 degrees at various points during the week, the Trevians had matchups with unbeaten Glenbrook South (Sept. 17), Glenbrook North (Sept. 19) and Palatine (Sept. 20) for their final three-game week of the season.

In the culminating match of the week, New Trier’s early start time (4:45 p.m.) meant a brighter sky and hotter pitch, prompting coach Matt Ravenscraft to utilize his bench early and often during a 1-0 victory in Northfield.

The win gave the Trevians (7-2-2) a 2-1 week with a 3-0 win against Glenbrook North and the 1-0 result against Palatine following a 1-0 loss to the Titans a couple days earlier.

“Sometimes we don’t talk about (the weather) enough, but conditions can play a major factor in the game,” he said. “We really had to battle today; we were playing in less than 24 hours. It was a good week for us.

“GBS is a legit team. We took a step forward even though we lost 1-0. The question for the team was can they respond, and they did — two good wins on the back of that tough 1-0 loss. I’m really proud of the boys, really proud of their effort. We went deeper into the bench today, because we had to, and the guys stepped up.”

Noah Capocchi was the lone goal scorer on Friday, taking an assist from senior Cole Driscoll and burying it in the back of the net early in the first half. The tally added to a special 24 hours for Capocchi, who recorded a hat trick in Thursday’s victory over GBN.

The Trevians held tough from there, limiting the Pirates’ opportunities as they protected their side of the pitch.

“Today we played with a defensive mindset, because it was hot, and it worked for us,” Driscoll said. “… We played last night. It was a huge week for us. We had tired legs. It was really awesome we had guys giving great shifts off the bench.”

The Trevians are defending their IHSA Class 4A championship, and Driscoll and Ravenscraft agreed they are getting their opponent’s best match in and match out.

To counter, Capocchi is putting together a special campaign on the offensive end and is aided by fellow seniors Driscoll and Jack Hwang as well as others.

New Trier’s defense has allowed just four goals all season and is anchored by center back Linus Ho. He is joined by Nikhil Prasad, Alex Kolanco and Connor Broadhurst on the back line. Senior keeper Thomas Terry picked up the shutout on Friday.

Following their big week, the Trevians continue play in the challenging Central Suburban South. They take on Maine South (7-4) on Sept. 24 in Park Ridge and then Evanston (10-0-1) on Oct. 1 at home in Northfield.

Ravenscraft said with the schedule easing up — at least in terms of frequency — New Trier can put in more work in practice to help as the postseason approaches.

“This next phase of the season … we can really dial things up on the training ground, introduce some new set pieces, clean some stuff up on various areas of the pitch,” he said. “We’re excited about that. We do our best work on the training ground.”

Driscoll agreed and said if the Trevians want to defend their state title – which they do — it starts at practice.

“It’s going to take everyone being locked in, everyone being focused and mainly treating every practice like it’s a game,” he said. “Making the practices harder than the games, working hard during practices so it makes the games seem easy, working when no one else is watching.”

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