On Mar. 5 the New Trier Girls Hockey team beat Loyola 4-3 in double-overtime at the Edge Ice Arena in West Jefferson-Bensenville.

The win sends the Girls Hockey team to the State Championship which will be played at the United Center on Mar. 24.

New Trier had a 2-0 lead at the end of the third period with goals from freshman forward Serena Seiple, assisted by freshman forward Sabrina Shvartsman and sophomore forward Mae Olshansky, as well as a goal from sophomore forward Julia Laden, assisted by senior forward Maureen McNerney.

Loyola scored one goal during the second period to make it 2-1  heading into the third period.

Half way through the third period Sophomore Kate McLaughlin scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-1.

Two minutes later, Loyola scored to bring themselves back into the game. In the final minute of the game, with an extra player, Loyola scored again to tie the game at 3 and force overtime.

Neither team was able to find the net in the first period of overtime.

In the second overtime McLaughlin scored a backhand goal with 3:18 left to put New Trier back in the lead and close out the game.

McLaughlin said, “scoring the game winning goal felt amazing after the 5 long periods we all played against Loyola. They never gave up, but we kept working harder and finally won the game.”

“It feels great beating one of our rivals and now going to the state championship because we have worked so hard for this all year,” said McLaughlin.

Going into the game she wanted to work hard every shift and keep the puck out of the their own zone so the other team could not score.

Senior Clare Mulhern had the same mindset going into the game. She said she wanted to play aggressive and forecheck.

Mulhern said it was a good feeling to beat Loyola to head to the state championship.

“I was so happy because in my four years I had never made it to state, and it was such an exciting game.”

New Trier started the season with a nine game winning streak which ended at the quad header against Loyola.

“After that game we didn’t wallow in defeat, but really came together as a team to move forward in the season. We have had an ongoing motivation to make it to the United Center which strengthened us even during the low points of the season,” said McNerney.

“Winning against Loyola in the semifinals was huge for our team.”

New Trier’s win over Loyola was made possible by teamwork.

Assistant Coach, Brit Schneiders said, “Our game against Loyola was a pretty great team effort. I think the girls are coming together and playing more as a team at the perfect time.”

“McLaughlin was a key player with two big goals for us. There were some very near goals in OT by people who were consistently solid throughout the game as well, such as Sabrina Shvartsman, Mo McNerney, Julia Laden, and Mae Olshansky. Abby Wieczorek had a phenomenal game in net,” said Schnieders.

Schneiders said his goal from day one was to have his team play as one.

“Many girls play another sport or play hockey for another team as well, so it can take longer for a team like this to feel cohesive.”

Games against Loyola are always exciting, this game was especially close because of the high stakes.

“The girls did a great job of focusing on that this game. Going into overtime, they went in with a clean slate mentality and just dominated both overtimes, and were absolutely relentless,” said Schneiders.

New Trier Girls Hockey is 21-1-4 this season. They have played three games against Glenbrook, losing only on one occasion.

The Girls Hockey team has been dominant since their founding before the 1999-2000 season. They have won eight state titles and been runner-up five times.

The team hopes to win the state championship and add to their success on Saturday at the United Center.

McNerney said “We try to not get too high or low, confident or scared. Glenbrook won the state championship last year, and they are really good and strong, but we are not going to let them win the championship again.”

“I think it will be a tough game but we have played Glenbrook before and we know how they play,” said McLaughlin.