On Sunday, Feb. 26, New Trier Girls Varsity Hockey played Loyola in their second to last game of the season, losing 7-2.

The game started strong with a goal from sophomore defender Maddie Babnick in the first period, and the offense continued to be strong throughout the game but was outmatched by Loyola.

Sophomore Hayden Snow’s strong defense as goalie was also a key aspect to New Trier’s defensive effort.

Assistant Varsity Coach Brit Schneiders said, “Snow really played a great game. Loyola definitely got more shots on net and Hayden had some spectacular saves.”

Specifically, in the first period, some of Loyola’s top forwards, including Tess Dettling and Valerie Caldwell, rushed the net and Hayden “took it like a pro and kept us in the game,” Schneiders said.

Junior forward Clare Mulhern also stood out for scoring the second goal of the game in the third period.

It was a great second effort for New Trier to come back against Loyola, even though they weren’t able to come back in the end.

“Her shooting in practice in recent weeks has really impressed me, and recently started translating in games,” Schneiders said. “She finally got the goal she had been waiting for.”

Overall, the game was full of fast-passed play and strong efforts on both sides. Head Coach Nelson Fornberg said, “It was a good, fast paced game.  We started off with a lot of energy, and we did a good job the first two periods at limiting their opportunities.”

Schneiders added, “Loyola has been a great competitor this year. The puck was in both ends relatively evenly, despite what the score might imply, but they definitely have some fierce competitors on that team.” Previously in the season, New Trier tied Loyola in the Quad header 1-1 in front of a packed crowd with a high-energy back and forth finish.

While the games are exciting for the players, the rivalry makes playing Loyola more difficult.

Senior defender Liza Boscow said, “Loyola is tough competition because of the rivalry between our schools. A lot of the game is in our heads. Having confidence we can win or at least compete with them is a huge part of winning any game.”

Senior defender Tay Munson, who will be playing hockey at Colby College next year, agreed, “Loyola is always tough competition. They’re our rivals and no matter what the nerves are high for all players on the ice.”

According to Schneiders, the team struggled throughout the season to play all three periods of a game to the best of their ability. This was something the team worked on throughout the season, and by the end, “the team really started coming together in the last two months.”

Fornberg agreed, “Overall it was a great season against some tough competition.  We have a young team who continued to get better, especially in the second half.”

“Our seniors did a great job for us all year and really helped bring everyone together and mentor the new players. It will be tough to lose Isabelle Sennett, Tay Munson, Meghan Talbot, Tommy Solberg, and Liza Boscow, but our future for the next couple years looks bright.”

While the team had a winning record of 11 wins, 9 loses, and 2 ties over their season, the end of their season with a loss to Latin three hours after playing Loyola was an emotional loss. The team did not go as far into the playoffs as they were expecting.

“We definitely wanted to get past the quarter finals and unfortunately we didn’t,” Boscow said. “We all wanted to get to the next game, but at the end of the season I felt like our team was definitely at its height of closeness. I just love everyone on the team.”