Senior Rachel Simon had five goals and two assists, and her sophomore sister Hannah had a hat trick and four assists as the Oak Park and River Forest High School girls lacrosse team routed visiting Glenbrook North 19-6 in an IHSA New Trier Sectional quarterfinal on May 22.
“We call them the Simon Connection,” said OPRF coach James Borja. “They’ve been playing together for a very long time.”
The Huskies started fast against the Spartans, scoring the game’s first eight goals. Glenbrook North didn’t get on the board until 9:24 left in the first half as OPRF (13-6) opened up a 12-2 lead at intermission.
“We know that when we come out most of the time, we’re the better team,” Borja said. “If we can jump on opponents early, we can build on that in the second half.”
Sophomore Harper Thompson had three goals, and classmate Patterson Grant and senior Grace Koch two apiece as the Huskies showed solid balance offensively.
“We can attack from different spots,” Borja said. “We have a lot of kids that can score.”
The victory continued the momentum from May 19, as Koch, the Huskie Athletic Council Female Athlete of the Year, scored eight goals and added five assists in OPRF’s 18-7 win over visiting Fenwick to end regular season play.
“It was good to end on a high note, especially because it was against Fenwick,” said Koch, who will attend the U.S. Naval Academy this fall.
Next up for the Huskies is a sectional semifinal against host New Trier on May 24. The Trevians routed Glenbrook South 18-2 in their first meeting this season at OPRF.
Against OPRF, Fenwick (10-7) surrendered the first five goals, but their coach, Tracy Bonaccorsi, lauded the effort.
“If you eliminate the first five minutes of the game, which obviously you can’t, I think it would’ve been a much closer outcome,” she said. “The score doesn’t depict how we played, and I’m proud that the girls never gave up.”
Sophomores Katy Bermi and Sade Rucker each scored twice for Fenwick, which hoped to bounce back in an IHSA sectional quarterfinal at Maine South on May 22. But the Hawks ended the Friars’ season with a 16-8 victory.
Trinity lacrosse
The season for Trinity’s lacrosse team came to an end May 22 as the Blazers (8-14) were blanked by Loyola Academy 19-0 in an IHSA sectional quarterfinal at Maine South.
Senior Paige Smith had another good season, finishing with 100 points (83 goals, 17 assists). Her sister Rian, a sophomore, scored 49 goals and headlines a list of 10 returners for next season.
