State Player of the Year Katy Weeks scored a goal and added an assist as the New Trier field hockey team finished the season on a high note, defeating Oak Park River Forest 2-0 in the State

Consolation game Saturday at Lake Forest, just one day after a stunning semifinal loss to Loyola.

The win cemented a third place finish in the state tournament for the top-seeded Trevians, who finished a strong season with a 28-2 record and first place finishes at invitations at Oak Park and St. Louis, Missouri. No New Trier team had ever won both of these tournaments in one season before this year.

“I want people to know how awesome this team really was,” said head coach Stephanie Nykaza. “It would have been a storybook ending if we had won state, but that’s not how life is.”

On Friday, the fourth-seeded Loyola Ramblers upended the Trevians 1-0 to end their bid at a fourth-straight state title in a controversial game that saw the referees disallow two potential New Trier goals. The loss was a devastating blow for the team.

“One of the hardest things in tournament play is when you come back to play for third and fourth place,” said Nykaza. “I knew it was hard for them to get up the next morning and have the energy and spirit to get back on the field.”

The next day, the Trevians harnessed their frustration from the tough loss to get ahead of the Huskies early, as Weeks fired a shot from the left of the goal with 15:39 remaining in the first half.

They added to their lead with 7:55 left until halftime when Hannah Waldman redirected a shot from Weeks into the goal. Goalie Kristen Ann Fox added a save in the second half to preserve the shutout.

“I think our seniors especially got up for the game and didn’t let anyone bring down the team,” said Weeks, one of four senior captains. “Everyone worked hard knowing it was our last game of the season.”

Senior co-captain Kelsey Murray agreed, saying, “I think we responded as well as we could have. This one was the hardest one to get people rallied for that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Nykaza was very pleased with her team’s response from the loss on Friday. “I couldn’t have been happier and I was really proud of the team,” she said. “Sometimes the best teams don’t win the championship. The thing I liked was that we didn’t point our fingers at the officials. For them to come back and play really well on Saturday was a huge testament to the will and spirit of this team.”

As they look back on the season, the team certainly sees it as a success overall. “If you define successful seasons by state championships, I don’t think many teams ever have successful seasons,” said Murray. “I think it’s more about how we committed on and off the field even if we didn’t win the big one.”

The Trevians say goodbye to senior captains Weeks, Murray, Courtney Roggekamp, and Sarah Kennedy. Nykaza was especially proud of these four for their leadership all season, saying, “The leadership from our captains was great. They had a great attitude and it was always for the team. I don’t think in all of my 24 years of coaching I’ve had such a good group.”

The season also featured a major personal accomplishment for Weeks, who received the honor of State Player of the Year for her stellar play this season. Weeks was the leading scorer for the Trevians for the third straight season and has committed to play at Cornell University next fall.

“It’s really been an honor to win player of the year knowing how talented some other players at other schools are in the state,” Weeks said. “I just hope that the younger players learned as much from me as I learned from the upperclassmen in other years.”

“I haven’t seen someone that lives and breathes field hockey and works so hard in the off-season as Katy,” said Nykaza. “She’s a perfect example of how hard work and dedication will bring results. No one can say that she doesn’t deserve player of the year.”

While the season didn’t end exactly as they hoped, the Trevians capped off yet another strong season with a victory in a program that takes winning very seriously.