‘United’ New Trier responds in state championship

Goalies don’t usually get assists, but this was not a usual assist.

New Trier field hockey standout Lilly Cimaroli fought off pain all afternoon — the result of an ankle injury in the Trevians’ previous contest — in the state championship Saturday, Nov. 2. It wasn’t easy, she said, but words from senior teammate and goalie Kennedy Glinn stuck in her mind.

“Kennedy Glinn, our goalie, told me this quote: ‘Pain is temporary; championships are forever,'” Cimaroli said. “That’s kind of what got me through it.” 

Cimaroli, a junior and nationally recognized talent, endured the pain enough to score the game-winner for the Trevians, who overcame an early 1-0 deficit to beat Lake Forest 3-1 Saturday in Lake Forest.

The ankle pain clearly affected Cimaroli’s movements, but on her crucial third-quarter goal, it didn’t slow her down as she collected the ball near the end line left of the goal, maneuvered back toward the field and sent the ball to goal.

“I ran ahead of (Kayla Chudgar) to try to get a ball and she laid a really nice ball and I was able to weave through a couple girls and just slip it past the goalie,” Cimaroli said. “I think it just slipped right between (the goalie’s) foot and the post.”

The Trevians’ Caitlyn Latimer recorded the insurance tally, an airborne shot that found the back of the box to make it 3-1 in the fourth quarter. New Trier held off Lake Forest the final eight minutes.

The victory gives New Trier (21-1-1) its 17th state championship and fifth in the last six seasons. Glenbrook upset the Trevs in the 2023 state-title game, providing extra motivation for this year’s crew.

“As we’ve been saying all year, it was a bit of a redemption tour at first, but as we got through the year, they became their own team,” said Brittany Romano, first-year Trevians head coach. “It became not ‘let’s win because of last year,’ but ‘let’s win because of who we are this year.’ To go undefeated in the state and keep winning, that’s really hard to do, and come out and beat (Lake Forest) a third time, just shows how strong of a team this unit was.”

With Cimaroli favoring her ankle, Romano and company kept her focused on offense, while leaning on Julia Soriano and Latimer to “do more work today, and both of them did great,” Romano said.

The Trevians weren’t pleased that the Scouts scored first, but they weren’t panicked either. New Trier has made a concerted effort all season to respond to adversity as a unit — as evidenced by the team’s adopted keyword: united.

So when Lake Forest scored off of a short corner midway through the first quarter, New Trier barely flinched.

“All season we’ve been talking about coming together. Our big word this season has been ‘united.'” said Beatrice Ottsen, senior defender and co-captain. “And so after we get scored on, we come together in a circle, identify how we got scored on and then come out stronger and look to score. 

“We didn’t change anything. We just told ourselves we were going to come out harder and the next one was ours.”

And it was.

A quarter later, Trevians sophomore Eloise Breen gathered a ricochet and knocked a shot to the far post and past the Scouts keeper to knot the score at 1-1.

It remained that way until halftime.

Cimaroli’s goal came less than three minutes into the second half to give her team an advantage it would cling to the remaining 28 minutes.

The final moments and the postgame celebration gave Ottsen “all the feels.”

“It feels awesome. To win it with all of them is so amazing,” she said.

Cimaroli felt “on top of the world,” adding that the key to the Trevians’ success “was we wanted it more than anybody else.”

In a way, no one wanted it more — or for longer time — than Romano.

In the victory’s afterglow, the former Trevians player turned coach reminisced about her days as a teenager playing the game she loves in Winnetka and dreaming of coaching one day.

Her dreams and reality weren’t exactly the same, though.

“I can’t imagine a better year. I’ve wanted this moment for so long,” Romano said. “What I didn’t know is them fulfilling their dreams is my dream now. I’m so happy for them.”

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