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New Trier wins 3rd straight soccer state title, extends shutout streak

The statistics are so absurd they’re almost unbelievable.

The New Trier girls soccer team has played approximately 1,700 minutes in the postseason the last three years. Its 4-0 victory over Collinsville in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday, June 4, improved its postseason record to 21-0 since 2014.

The Trevians have scored 73 goals during that span.

They haven’t conceded one.

“That’s crazy,” said New Trier senior goalkeeper Dani Kaufman, who’s been in net for the large majority of those minutes. “That’s just insane. I think that statistic — I’m very proud of that — but I have to attribute it to my team, and I have to attribute it to my defense as well.”

The Trevians (26-3-1) have had different defensive midfielders in each of the last three seasons. The team’s back line has featured a different combination of players each year. And yet, New Trier hasn’t conceded a goal in the playoffs since 2013.

“To me, that is a mind-blowing statistic because in the game of soccer, a (momentary) lapse in concentration and a goal goes in,” New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. “That’s (Joe DiMaggio) hitting-streak-esque. … It blows my mind. I’ve been around the game a long time, and that doesn’t happen when you’re playing great competition.”

Kaufman, a Bucknell signee, has been a constant during that shutout streak, and so too have several attributes.

“I think (the reason for not conceding any goals) is a lot of mental toughness, and staying locked in at every moment and every game,” senior midfielder Bina Saipi said. “That just goes to show that when the pressure amps up, so do we. And we’re not going to let in a goal and think it’s OK. We just do our best to not let that happen.”

Kaufman, Saipi, forward Kelly Maday and midfielder Celia Frei are all now three-time state champions. So too is senior Michelle Sokal, the Trevians’ back-up goalie. Defender Jen Fishman and midfielder Haley Yamada also were on the state tournament roster all three years.

Those seven are part of a 10-person senior class, which includes left back Katie Sadera, midfielder Flower Edington and defender Amanda David. The seniors will likely be remembered by outsiders as being part of a team that was unmatched, unflappable and untouchable in the postseason to a mind-bending degree.

But Saipi, Maday and Kaufman agreed that they want to be remembered within the New Trier girls soccer program for more than just their wins.

Kaufman hopes she and the other graduating seniors will be considered role models just like the players from the 2003-06 era who produced three Class AA state championships. Kaufman and many of her teammates looked up to players on those teams.

Saipi agreed. She said she hopes her class’ hard work and ability to have “serious fun” — a mantra within the girls soccer program — continues for years to come.

For Maday, who scored New Trier’s fourth goal against Collinsville and assisted on two more at North Central College in Naperville, the relationships and chemistry among teammates stand out. She said she hopes future teams try to nurture similarly strong bonds between players.

“This entire (state championship) game, while the game was going on, I was thinking about everything that’s happened in the last four years for me, personally,” said Maday, the 2016 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year. “The accomplishments are amazing, but I think (what I’ll remember the most) is the memories with the girls.”

That is the thing that Burnside said has made New Trier’s senior class so special.

“It’s their love of the game, and (the seniors’) love of playing the game with their friends,” Burnside said. “I think that speaks volumes about them. They do it for each other. … They just love each other. It’s fun to watch — to see people get along, enjoy each other’s company and then compete. I haven’t seen much like it. It’s an impressive group. We’re going to miss them.”

Game notes

* Junior forward Natalie Laser scored the eventual game-winning goal against Collinsville when a flick by Maday played her in behind the defense. Laser, a USC commit, finished calmly into the top corner from about 15 yards away to put the Trevians ahead 1-0 with 30:47 remaining.

Sophomore outside back Caroline Iserloth put New Trier ahead 2-0 with 10:12 left in the first half. Her lofted shot from a little more than 25 yards away was angled perfectly. The Collinsville goalkeeper couldn’t catch it cleanly or punch it over the bar. Instead, it went in.

Saipi provided the back-breaking goal against the Kahoks (22-2-2) when she curled in a right-footed shot with 53.5 seconds remaining in the first half.

Maday put the Trevians ahead 4-0 with 32:21 left in the second, but Saipi’s goal removed all doubt from a match that was more competitive in the first half than a 3-0 score would suggest.

* Kaufman finished with five saves. New Trier’s back line of junior Sam Urban, sophomore Sydney Parker, Iserloth and Sadera played very well. So did junior holding midfielder Avery Schuldt.

Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

Twitter @VanDrilSports