When the New Trier girls soccer team takes the field at Toyota Park on Sunday for the title game of the Pepsi Showdown against No. 1 seed Wheaton North, it will be the latest chapter for a program that has dominated this decade.
Under coach Jim Burnside, No. 2 seed New Trier entered this season having won 189 games since 2000 — an average of 23 a season. Only 32 times in the last 229 games has an opponent walked away on top, with 12 of those losses coming in 2007.
New Trier has been blessed with 16 all-state players since 2000. Many will argue the Trevians would’ve had even more all-state spots if not for an outdated award system.
But when looking at this year’s squad, the lack of big-name players jumps out.
‘‘I will say playing at Toyota Park has been a huge deal for these girls, and they get that opportunity to do that,’’ said Burnside, whose team will battle the Falcons part of a doubleheader with the Chicago Fire and Kansas City Wizards at 4:30 p.m.
‘‘It’s a great scenario for women’s soccer in Illinois. It’s a huge deal to be in the finals of this tournament, because there are 32 good teams. We might not have the big names, but we have great players.’’
Midfielder Jessie Wall has recorded four goals and one assist in the previous four tournament games. The senior also has played every minute.
Defenders Annemarie Heinrich, Jessie McLinden, Alicia Johnson and Alex Fraser are a big reason why New Trier has allowed just one goal.
‘‘Jessie marked the top player on each team we played: Vernon Hills, Oak Park, Homewood-Flossmoor and St. Charles North,’’ Burnside said. ‘‘Annemarie is not a huge name, but she deserves a lot of praise for her play in the tournament.’’
Senior forward Alicia Shapiro, who scored the game-winner against St. Charles North in last Saturday’s semifinals, believes the Trevians have a special bond.
‘‘This year, we have a really well-rounded team,’’ Shapiro said. ‘‘Every individual isn’t the best star individually, but we work really well together as a team.
‘‘We have this chemistry of knowing where the person is running to, and we know what type of play they like to make and it works. I feel we could really go far this season.’’
Contributing: Matt LeCren
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