New Trier and Loyola Academy have been bitter rivals in almost every sport for nearly sixty years.
New Trier athletes wait all year to play the Ramblers and always circle the game on the calendar. Even though the catholic school is not in the Central Suburban League conference, every game against Loyola is always a highly anticipated and intensely competitive event.
“The rivalry exists because of how geographically close our two school are,” said Athletic Director Randy Oberembt. “Because of how close we are in proximity and the competitive excellence of the two schools, each game is definitely going to draw community interest.”
Loyola Academy was founded in 1909 in the Rogers Park neighborhood at Loyola University as an all boys Catholic school.
In 1957 the school was moved to its current location in Wilmette, only a few blocks away from the New Trier West campus. Loyola remained an all boys school until 1994. In 2003 the Ramblers opened up their athletic complex which is known as “The Hill.”
The Lacrosse, Soccer, Baseball, and Softball teams practice and play on “The Hill.” A few New Trier athletes dread playing on the hill because of how high up the turf fields are.
Loyola, like New Trier, offers over thirty different sports. Many of New Trier boys programs such as football, hockey, and lacrosse, have played Loyola since the 1960s, while the girls teams including field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse teams didn’t start to play Loyola until the late 1990s.
But whether it’s a boys or girls game, it will be hard fought, exciting game, which embodies the true rivalry that exists between the two high schools.
“The rivalry with Loyola is big for New Trier because they’re so close and they’re competitive in all the sports we are,” said senior football player James Doan. “And the fact that everyone knows someone who goes there makes you want to beat them in every sport and beat them badly.”
New Trier and Loyola’s football teams aren’t in the same conference, but they are both in class 8A ISHA playoffs. The two teams have met in the early rounds of the playoffs in past years, with Loyola usually defeating the Trevians.
The rarity with which these two team face each other also strengthens the rivalry between New Trier and Loyola.
The Ramblers and the Trevs haven’t faced each other in six years, but this season’s bracket set up a potential quarterfinal matchup. Loyola ended up losing to Stevenson in the second round, and the much anticipated matchup never happened.
New Trier’s field hockey team has been dominant in the last twenty years, making it to the state playoffs nearly every year. This year, the Trevians won the state championship while Loyola lost early in the playoffs. The two teams met only once this year during the regular season, and the Trevs cruised past the Ramblers.
“We went in to the season thinking they would be good competition because they beat Lake Forest High School earlier in the season,” said junior Audrey Kingdom. “But when we played them on “The Hill” we beat them 4-0.”
New Trier and Lake Forest have been the top schools in Field Hockey for the past two years, while Loyola has not been as good as of late. In fact New Trier and Lake Forest have had a bigger rivalry.
“They have been good in past years, but they haven’t had a team as long as we have and they don’t have as many kids to pull from,” said Kingdom. “They aren’t our main rivalry, but it’s always great to beat them.”
After an unbelievable win at the Quad Header with only seventeen seconds left, the New Trier Green team is looking forward to dominating Loyola this season, especially after a hard loss to the Ramblers last year at the Quad.
“I think Loyola is such a big rival for us because they are a team that we see very often during the regular season and our games are always really competitive,” said senior goalie Jack Junge.
New Trier Green has won eleven state championships including last year’s victory. They face many difficult opponents including Loyola and Glenbrook North, their main competition for state every year, but playing Loyola is always a schoolwide event for both of the schools.
“This rivalry means so much to us because it’s a tradition at both schools so even from a young age we hated Loyola hockey,” said Junge.
After an upsetting loss at the Quad, the New Trier Girls Hockey team is looking forward to continuing their rivalry against Loyola and facing them at state. The girls have won six state championships including last year where they beat Loyola at the United Center.
“We have a rivalry with Loyola because they’re good competition,” said senior center Ali Griffin. “We always look forward to playing them because it will always be an incredibly competitive game.”
The Trevians play Loyola nearly every year in the state championship game which creates a vigorous rivalry between the two teams. The Trevs played Loyola on Nov. 25 in a rematch of the Quad game and the game ended in an uneventful tie.
“They are definitely our biggest rivals, we end up playing them in state most years and they are a strong team,” said Griffin, “But beating them in state is the best feeling ever.”
Last year the boy’s lacrosse team played Loyola for the state championship. The game went into overtime after a last second goal for New Trier. Senior David Hammes scored the game winner. This was the Trevians’ tenth state championship win.
“I would say they are probably such a big rivalry with us because for the last 10-15 years the state championship has been won by one of us,” said senior attacker Ben Connelly. “They’re always a solid team and we also always have a strong team, too. We’re two very evenly matched teams.”
Since New Trier and Loyola both created a boys lacrosse team, the schools have been bitter rivals.
“I would definitely say they are our biggest rivals. We don’t like them at all, and that’s the simplest way to put it,” said Connelly, “We know when we play Loyola we always have to bring it; you can’t get away with a lousy effort and still manage to pull out a victory.”
Last year’s state championship game did not end the way the Girls Lacrosse team wanted it to. After a difficult loss to Loyola the Trevians are looking forward to redeem themselves this season and making it back to the state game.
“New Trier and Loyola rivalry goes way back, before I can remember. We’re the two best teams around and each other’s biggest competitors,” said senior defender Kate Conaghan. “Ever since I’ve played New Trier lacrosse, and even before then, the rivalry has been there. They are totally our biggest rival.”
Loyola and New Trier combined have played in every state game since 1998, with New Trier winning five state championships since that year. These two very talented teams are always competing to be the best team in the state.
“One of the reasons is that there is a rivalry because they are so close to us and we just love beating Loyola at everything,” said Conaghan, “But whenever we play against Loyola it’s always one of the biggest games of the year; it’s a fierce battle and a hugely intense game.”
This rivalry that exists with New Trier and Loyola is not the oldest rivalry for New Trier, that’s the conference rivalry between Evanston, but just the word Loyola fuels a fierce hatred to any New Trier student.
“The rivalry between Evanston and New Trier is very important to both schools and is one of the longest rivalries in the state,” added Oberembt.
“But the rivalry between Loyola and New Trier is different. Some families that live in the district have people in their families that go to both New Trier and Loyola. Some kids have neighbors that go to Loyola, and because we are so close everyone wants to beat their neighbors’ or cousin’s school.”
Last spring, New Trier and Loyola faced off seven times in seven different spring sport playoffs. New Trier came out on top with a record of 5-2.
This competitive excellence in the last few years has only strengthened the rivalry between the two schools and as winter sports end and spring sports start, everyone will be looking forward to taking on Loyola.
“In every sport at New Trier, there’s something about Loyola that makes you want to beat them more than any other team on the regular and post season schedule,” concluded Connelly.