New Trier senior goalkeeper Katy Symanietz, seen here in the sectional tourney, was one of the standouts in the super-sectional at Streamwood High School on May 30. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Katy Symanietz spent last winter, as a reserve guard for the New Trier girls basketball team, flying all over the court and diving for loose balls.
Skinned knees were her badges of courage.
“Yeah, I had a habit of diving on the floor,” she said.
Thus, transitioning to her spring sport, as the starting goalkeeper for the Trevians girls soccer team, was a breeze for Symanietz.
“All that diving helped my soccer,” she said.
New Trier needed — and got — a max effort from its senior goalie in its 1-0 victory over a talented and rugged St. Charles North squad in the Class 3A Bartlett Super-sectional at Streamwood High School on May 30.
The North Stars, who feature star forward Hailey Rydberg, bombarded the net during the final 26 minutes of this contest. And Symanietz kept meeting the challenges and making the stops.
Her dramatic diving save with 40 seconds left on a shot taken by St. Charles forward Claudia Najera was particularly impressive.
“That one in the final minute?” said Symanietz. “That one was scary.”
Symanietz and the Trevians (23-2-1), who will face Collinsville in a state semifinal at North Central College in Naperville on June 2 (5 p.m.), have recorded three straight shutouts. They will be looking to win their fourth straight state title.
“Katy has been positively spot on,” said New Trier head coach Jim Burnside. “She came up big when she needed to come up big.
“What she has done for us this season speaks volumes about her character,” the coach added. “Some kids in her situation [playing behind two star goalies, Dani Kaufman and Michelle Sokal for three years] would say, ‘I’ll just go and do something else.’ But she didn’t. She just kept working hard.”
The tough-minded Symanietz knew the situation. She simply waited her turn.
“I just kept grinding it out until I got my shot,” said Symanietz, who was a JV1 co-captain last spring.
Meanwhile, the sensational scoring play of the night belonged to New Trier senior defender Sam Urban.
The goal came in the fourth minute, and it was shockingly good.
“Just a phenomenal play made by a phenomenal player,” said Burnside. “Big-time players show up in big-time moments.”
Urban, who will play in the Big Ten next season for Wisconsin, took possession near midfield, zigzagged her way up field and then unloaded a missile into the left corner of the net.
“It’s all kind of blur right now,” said Urban. “But I remember intercepting the ball and then having a lot of space. So I decided to spice it up a little.
“I think the goalie thought I was going to pass,” No. 11 added. “When I shot, I think I shocked her a little. I don’t think she was ready for it.”
Urban is known as a defensive ace. It was only her third goal of the season.
“I’m sure that they didn’t have any [scouting] notes on me being a scorer,” said Urban.
Burnside was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the play.
“I was looking for Sam to disperse it,” said Burnside. “But she saw an opening and took a chance.
“Sometimes, a game can be decided by one spectacular play,” the coach added. “And that’s what happened tonight.”
Urban, who teams with Sydney Parker, Megan Murdoch and Caroline Iserloth in the back line, also played a key role in helping to keep the North Stars off the scoreboard.
And, you can’t ignore the efforts of NT’s midfielder corps: Hope Baisley, Avery Schuldt and Lily Conley. (Senior forward Hannah Arment also played considerable minutes in the midfield).
Baisley once again made her mark. Sh did a great job of shadowing — and containing — Rydberg. The Iowa commit, considered extremely dangerous with a soccer ball, broke free on a couple of occasions but never connected. Two of her rocket shots sailed over the crossbar.
“St. Charles is a very organized and dangerous team,” said Burnside. “They battled and took it to us. But our ‘D’ weathered the storm.”
The other teams headed to state include Barrington and Downers Grove North. They will meet in the other semifinal game on June 2 (7 p.m.). Barrington advanced with a 4-1 victory over Rockton Hononegah, while Downers Grove North beat Naperville in a penalty-kick shootout.
Senior defender Sam Urban, seen here in sectional action, scored the lone goal in the New Trier’s super-sectional win over St. Charles North. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER