As school starts back up, the NT Boys Lacrosse program begins preparations for its 2026 season with high expectations after the success of last year.

Last season, after four years of playoff losses to longtime rival Loyola Academy, New Trier High School varsity boys lacrosse defeated the Ramblers in the Sectional Championship on May 30, sending the team to super-sectionals for the first time since the 2019 season. 

The win marked a new beginning for a program that had dropped below their former standard over the last few years. 

In 2022, former head coach of 25 years Tom Herrala was dismissed from the program. This came after an off-campus hazing incident that led to the team being placed on probation and prohibited from participating in out-of-state tournaments. 

Later that year, former assistant coach Adam Dickson was promoted to head coach.

“I was excited,” Dickson said. “It’s an honor to be someone that gets to represent this program and certainly all the success that this program has had in the past because of our former coaches and our former alumni, and how they’ve built this program into what it is.”

With the hiring of a new head coach, the program began to re-outline its core values. After long discussions between Dickson and the team captains for the upcoming 2023 season, they decided on three values for the team.

“When we think about New Trier lacrosse, when we think about the ideal student athlete or ideal teammate, respect, integrity and service really stood out to us,” Dickson said. 

Setting these goals was the first component of accomplishing Dickson’s goal of transforming the culture of the program.

“I’ve been so proud of the guys because every time that I set a standard or our program sets a standard for what it means to be a New Trier lacrosse player, they’ve always met or exceeded that standard,” Dickson said.

Although the Trevs went 19-6 during the  2025 regular season, they continued to fall in big games. Apart from beating Loyola, they lost to St. Viator High School, Glenbrook North High School, Wheaton Academy, and Lake Forest High School, all of which were potential rematches come playoff time.

Something needed to change if boys lacrosse wanted to make a deep run in June. In previous years, the team felt stuck. They lacked a team-wide growth mindset that was needed to bring themselves back to a state championship.

“I feel like my sophomore year, we all kind of thought that this is our team, this is how good we are, and that’s that,” senior attackman Dylan Gradman said. “But last year, especially with how we didn’t start the season as we’d hoped, we knew that we could grow a lot more, and we knew we had a lot of potential. That really changed how we played at every practice, and what we focused on, and how we built off each other.”

When reflecting on this past season, senior midfielder and captain Walker Chessen thought this culture that focused on growth and development, led by a tight-knit senior class, was what got the Trevs over the hump.

“Something that was important [to our success] was how tight the seniors were,” senior captain and midfielder Walker Chessen said. “They just had a bond and had such good chemistry off the field and that showed on the field. But they were also involving us in that chemistry and it felt like everyone had a voice, which was just so special.” 

Dickson agreed, focusing on the leadership and drive to win of the former seniors.

“That was a big senior class,” Dickson said. “It meant a lot to them. They really wanted it. And they did a great job, top to bottom, on being leaders. We had three great captains, but all of those guys were leading drills, welcoming in younger guys, showing them the right way.”

However, there was uncertainty as the playoffs arrived. With a mediocre regular season resumé apart from Loyola, it was unpredictable whether or not this would be the year the Trevs headed down state.

Yet, the Trevs flew through the first playoff rounds and, on May 30, the Ramblers marched down Happ Road for another playoff rematch. 

After trading scores for the first three quarters, the score was tied 3-3 coming into the fourth. Almost immediately, junior midfielder Jake Carrasquillo scored, but Loyola responded just minutes later with another game-tying goal. Then, the Trevs took control. Former senior attackman Hans Huber put one in the back of the net, putting the Trevs up 5-4. With time expiring sophomore midfielder Ben Sullivan scored his first, dealing the final blow for the Ramblers, and sending the Trevs to the super sectionals for the first time since 2019.

“It was just an unreal feeling,” Chessen said.“In that moment, beating Loyola for the first time in four years was a result that validated the process,” said Dickson. “It proved we are doing the right thing. We can beat Loyola. That moment was really special. Our assistant coaches have been doing this a long time. They’ve been with me throughout all of this, and I know for the entire program, all the guys were ecstatic. They ran home from their campus. So it meant a lot to have that result.”

After their win against Loyola, the Trevs won two straight matches, sending them to the state championship against Lake Forest High School. Even though the Trevs weren’t able to secure a state championship, losing to the Scouts 8-5, their playoff run marked a return to form for the program.

As school starts back up and the program gets back to work, the new captains, senior defensemen Nolan Naggatz and Walker Chessen, want to hold onto last year’s momentum and culture.

“Our goal is definitely to form great [team] chemistry because that reflects onto the field,” Naggatz said. “It can’t be just us being the guys with the voices. There’s gonna be guys like Aaron Pressman, who are going to have a really big voice on our team, and other guys that need to step up when they can because they’re the seniors and the younger guys follow up to them.” 

The team is losing 16 seniors from last year, causing half of this year’s team to be new varsity players. 

“Now we have to replace the entire starting attack unit, a lot of our defense and our goaltending,” Dickson said. “The good thing about New Trier is that we have players that have been waiting in the wings for their opportunity. So we need to figure out roles and there’s some growth that’s going to happen early on in the season, but we definitely have talent and potential.”

But, the captains have one main objective.

“I think we have to get the team back to the state championship,” Chessen said. “That’s 100% our goal.”