Loyola moves one step closer to goal

Updated: May 25, 2011 10:48PM

Stephanie Scherer and her three senior teammates are looking to make Loyola history next week. 

Those Ramblers hope to become the first group to win three consecutive girls lacrosse state championships. 

“That’s definitely been a goal all season long,” said Scherer, who scored three times in the Ramblers’ 21-9 win over Glenbrook South to earn a trip to the state semifinals at Hinsdale Central on June 1. The title game is June 3 at Northwestern. “That will be special to share with the team and the school. Being a senior and a captain, it’s nice to know I am helping lead us.”

Molly Hulseman, Meg Perkaus, Nicole Gleason and Scherer all have been part of the previous two state titles. Both times the Ramblers beat New Trier for the championship. But Loyola met the Trevians in the sectional final this spring.

Loyola coach John Dwyer was relieved to see his girls didn’t experience a letdown against the Titans.

“Obviously Monday was an exhausting game,” Scherer said of the 16-14 win over New Trier at Evanston. “We put everything we had into that game. But New Trier was only a step in the direction to the state title. We had to come out hard against Glenbrook South.”

But Loyola was a little flat at first. 

“It took us a while to find our rhythm,” Scherer said.

As they done all season, the Ramblers spread the scoring around. Six girls scored at least two goals, led by Gleason’s five. Kelsey Gallager, Meredith Abrahamson and Scherer all scored three each, while Perkaus and Hulseman each added two goals.

“That’s kind of the way our offense is structured,” said Dwyer, whose team improved to 19-2 and remained undefeated against in-state opponents. “It’s best for our team when we have as many as seven relatively equal weapons in the offensive zone.”

Glenbrook South ended its season 13-5-2, but coach Anne Lesch saw her team improve throughout the spring. The Titans, who lost to Loyola 19-3 on April 12, entered Wednesday’s game on a five-game winning streak.

“The first time we played them we were missing three defenders, and they were all back for this game,” she said. “That made a huge difference, and we were more prepared to play them the second time.”

Nicole Lander scored a team-high four goals, while CC Hoogland added two goals in the loss. 

“I told these kids that they will never forgive themselves if they have a letdown and don’t finish the job after beating New Trier,” Dwyer said. “That was a big hurdle for us, but that game was not the state championship. The kids responded well.”

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