Hannah Simon scored four goals, and Grace Koch, Rachel Simon and Harper Thompson each added three as the Oak Park and River Forest High School girls lacrosse team rolled past neighborhood rival Trinity High School 17-4 on April 5 at Oak Park Stadium.
The Huskies (3-2) are off to a solid start, something OPRF coach James Borja was hoping for.
“Our team has looked very cohesive so far,” he said. “We have many girls that are scoring threats and it’s very difficult to key on one specific player.”
Koch, a senior, had 55 goals last year and made the all-state second team while also gaining all-conference and all-sectional honors. Sophomore Hannah Simon also made the all-conference and all-sectional teams and scored 51 goals.
OPRF also returns its top defender in junior Kai Coffee and hopes to get a valuable contribution from new goalie Elizabeth Thomason, a junior.
“The biggest goal is to play to our potential with consistency,” Borja said. “We’re off to a fast start, but our goal is to maintain that pace and improve every day.”
After four straight losses to open the program’s 10th season, including the one to OPRF, Trinity defeated host Vernon Hills 9-6 on April 8 to notch their first win. Head coach Jim Moy feels the victory is a byproduct of the work the team has put in this spring.
“We’ve looked progressively better since the first day of the season,” he said.
Trinity is led by the Smith sisters. Paige, a senior co-captain, posted a team-high 107 goals for the Blazers last year, while younger sister Rian, a sophomore, had 42 goals.
Senior Allie Ferenzi, a co-captain who missed most of last season due to injury, is a speedy midfielder Moy is happy to have back. He’s counting on the other co-captains, seniors Abby De La Cruz and Bridget Tobin, to be big contributors.
Newcomers to watch for Trinity include sophomores Natalie Arellano, Sasha Goodman, Ashlyn Lockey, and Kate Olivo along with senior Delaney Burns.
The Blazers hope to get a top-six seed in this year’s sectional and Moy believes matches with Glenbard West, Montini, Nazareth Academy, and Riverside-Brookfield will go a long way in determining the outcome.
“We strive to make it a memorable and historic season,” he said.
Fenwick defeats McAuley in league match
Elizabeth Winkel scored four goals and Sade Rucker three as Fenwick High School defeated Mother McAuley 10-7 in a Girls Catholic Athletic Conference match on April 5 at the Dominican Priory in River Forest.
Lily De la Torre made six saves for the Friars, who have started the year 5-1. Fenwick coach Tracy Bonaccorsi believes having an experienced roster that features eight seniors has been vital to the early success.
“The senior class is my first four-year class; they were freshmen during my first year,” she said. “We’ve been together for a while now and it’s been awesome to watch them grow on and off the lacrosse field.”
Fenwick has received consistent play from senior midfielders Catherine Goode and Cate Krema (team-leading 6 assists), who are especially strong with draws. Seniors Annie O’Brien and Annie Showel along with junior Molly Pondelicek have provided a steadying defensive presence in front of De la Torre, a sophomore goalie.
Offensively, Winkel, a senior, leads the Friars with 19 goals. Junior Caroline Sutton has 14 goals, and Rucker, a sophomore, has 13.
“It’s been a blast so far and I’m looking forward to the second half of our season when we return from spring break next week,” Bonaccorsi said.
Fenwick wants to keep building momentum for the rest of the regular season in hopes of having postseason success. Bonaccorsi says getting to the sectional title match is a major goal this spring, considering that the Friars have had early state playoff exits the past two seasons.
