North Shore Country Day field hockey team sets bar high

Updated: September 19, 2011 9:02PM

Coming close isn’t much of a comfort to the North Shore Country Day field hockey team.

For two seasons in a row, the Raiders have lost in triple overtime in the playoffs.

“Little bittersweet,” said North Shore coach Sarah Mills, whose team finished 16-1-2 last year. “They do not want that to happen again. They are hungry. They have set the bar high for themselves, and they want to play for a state championship. I do believe it’s attainable.”

North Shore’s lone loss this season came against two-time defending state champion New Trier on Sept. 7. The Trevians scored both of their goals in a 2-0 victory in the first few minutes, before the Raiders woke up.

“That was a frustrating match,” said Mills, in her 10th season in charge. “We showed we can play with them, but I think we were a little intimidated at first.”

North Shore (7-1), the three-time champion of the ISL, entered the week riding a three-game winning streak.

“There’s a lot of tradition, a lot at stake,” said Mills, whose team beat Woodlands Academy 5-2 on Friday to maintain its hold on the league lead. “Winning the conference is a benchmark for us, but the girls want more than that this year. We want to compete on the state level.”

Leading the way for the Raiders are four-year veteran midfielders Kim Kahnweiler and Aleda Deuble.

Mills welcomed back another six returning starters: senior Grace Flickinger, senior Rachel Mabie, juniors Addie Ball, Lizzy Gendell and Alissa Nolan, and sophomore Rory Kelly.

“That’s a pretty nice position to be in,” Mills said. “We have a lot of depth.”

Katherine Chandler and Jeannie Peters are returnees who didn’t start last year. After waiting her turn, Peters now is the starting goalie.

“She’s been training for it for two years,” said the coach, whose club hasn’t allowed more than two goals in any game this year. “The spotlight is on her, and she’s having a great season. She’s a really good leader back there.”

Sophomore Heather Mabie is new to varsity, but she’s already contributing in a big way. The forward scored three goals in the 6-1 win over Woodlands Academy on Sept. 6.

Freshman Mackenize Nolan is another new addition to the lineup.

“It’s still pretty early in our season, so we are kind of figuring out how to jell,” Mills said. “We are finding out what kind of team we will be.”

Golf

The Raiders won both all three matches last week. They defeated Lake Forest Academy 161-170 on Sept. 12 as junior Nick McCall of Winnetka was the medalist with a 36. Junior Andrew Bedford of Winnetka was close behind him with a 37.

The following day, the Raiders defeated Parker by a convincing 163-210. Bedford led the way with a 1-over-par 38, McCall carded a 41, while freshman Andrew Blechman and his junior brother David Blechman of Northfield both registered 42s. On Sept. 15, the Raiders edged Elgin St. Edward 172-179 behind McCall’s 1-over 37.

Boys soccer

North Shore was blanked by Latin 2-0 on Sept. 15.

Volleyball

After dropping a close match Sept. 13 to University High, the Raiders bounced back Sept. 15 with a straight-sets win over St. Gregory. Sophomore Kaitlyn Johnson of Wilmette led the team with 16 aces. Senior Megan Airey of Winnetka contributed two aces, while senior captain Katherine Simmons of Evanston recorded three assists and two aces. Junior Anita Graef of Evanston her first kill of the season to wrap up the win.

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