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Huntley comes up short vs. New Trier

Huntley doesn't meet New Trier too often, but when the two do meet it turns out to be more than a battle on the field.

The Red Raiders have had the edge in a couple of previous meetings with the Trevians with a victory and a tie.

But this time around an early goal in favor of No. 3 New Trier was enough to get past No. 6 Huntley in the quarterfinals of the PepsiCo girls soccer tournament in Winnetka on Thursday night.

The Red Raiders' Abigail Nordeen was one of many that knew what type of match it was going to be and never gave up from the start until the final whistle.

"I was feeding off the energy of everybody else," said Nordeen, who was playing in the midfield for the Red Raiders. "You just do what you can. We did that, but we didn't come out with the win. I think we were relentless and we didn't want (New Trier) to have it that easy. It just didn't go our way, but it happens."

Kelly Maday scored the eventual game-winning goal two minutes into the match for New Trier (12-0). She took a pass from Jackie Welch, then fought her way through two defenders before finding the back of the net.

"I thought we got sloppy early," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner, whose team dropped to 9-3. "(New Trier) was so fast and aggressive that they took advantage of it. It was a great shot and the girl hustled through. We don't give up goals like that."

Still, Huntley managed to give one of its best efforts against one of the best teams in the state.

"(New Trier) was a very good team," Graber said. "I'm very impressed with the way that they play. Our girls stepped up and played out there. I don't think we got great opportunities, but we built the attack well. We just have to get better in the final third and we're right in that game."

Red Raiders' keeper Jessica Galason made 9 stops but had a few in spectacular fashion. Whether it was a diving save or punching a ball over the crossbar, it was more than enough to keep her team in the game. She also had help from a defense in front of her that consisted of Abigail Enrici, Jenna Hermansen, Sam Heustis, Sam Morin and Rachel Zobott.

"The defense did an awesome job," Galason said. "We have great defenders that are able to get back and keep the ball out. It really does help a lot. They were the top team that we've faced this year."

New Trier had to hold off the efforts of Huntley, as the Red Raiders were pushing and trying to get the equalizer down to the final minutes.

"(Huntley) was athletic, they were aggressive, " New Trier coach Jim Burnside said. "They were definitely coming at us. I thought we did a good job of holding on.

"They're a good team and they possess the ball very well. It was a good to get a win against them."

New Trier will play second-seeded Loyola Academy in the semifinals at Olympic Park in Schaumburg at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Huntley takes on St. Charles North at 12:30 p.m. in a consolation game.

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