Girls soccer: St. Charles North falls just short of first IHSA state title after 4-3 loss to New Trier in PKs

NAPERVILLE – It all came down to the penalty kicks.

After New Trier took a 5-4 advantage in the shootout to decide the Class 3A girls soccer state championship, Chloe Kirsten looked to keep St. Charles North’s hopes alive for its first state title in program history.

The whistle blew and Kirsten sent the ball to the right.

Unfortunately for her and the North Stars players and fans, so did New Trier goalie Annie Fowler.

[ Photos: St. Charles North vs. New Trier ]

North’s quest came to a painful end in the title game, falling to New Trier 4-3 in penalty kicks on June 1 at North Central College.

Despite not ending with the state title, North Stars coach Brian Harks said he wouldn’t trade his group of girls for the world.

“These girls believe in themselves and each other and there isn’t an ounce of quit amongst the whole group,” Harks said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team. This was a special season.”

The penalty kicks moved to sudden death after four of the first five players on both sides managed to find the back of the net. Both teams missed their fourth attempts. Addy Randall, who scored New Trier’s first two goals in the game, had her shot hit the crossbar before bouncing out. St. Charles North’s Kayla Floyd had her shot blocked by Fowler.

The North Stars didn’t take their first lead in the game until the 83rd minute. Bringing the ball down the field to start overtime, Rian Spaulding sent a center into the box that found Kaitlyn Glenn, who shot the ball to the left and just out of Fowler’s reach to put North up 3-2.

Spaulding, who was one of eight seniors playing in their final high school soccer game, said it was an overwhelming feeling to put North into the lead.

“At the time, I thought it might’ve been the game-winner, so I was so happy,” Spaulding said. “I was just proud of everyone for working so hard and getting to that point.”

The lead was short-lived. Five minutes later, New Trier’s Charlotte Dellin managed to get her head on a corner from Annie Paden to tie the game back up at 3-3.

“Scoring in overtime in a state final is really exciting,” Glenn said. “It’s unfortunate that they got that goal a few minutes later and we fell in PKs, but soccer is just like jazz, anything can happen.”

The North Stars were two minutes away from losing in regulation with New Trier holding a 2-1 lead. But in the 79th minute, Laney Stark forced Fowler, who had dropped the ball at her feet to try to draw time off the clock, to pick the ball up again, which led to a foul.

After indirectly kicking the ball to herself on the free kick in the box, Stark lined the ball into the top-left corner of the net for her second goal of the game to draw the score even at 2-2 and force overtime.

“There’s no other feeling that could describe that,” Stark said. “It gave our team hope and another chance to keep fighting and I think my team did that and I’m so happy I was able to give them that chance.”

Stark scored the first goal of the game for North in the 36th minute to tie the match at 1-1 heading into halftime. After pushing the ball down toward the left side of the goal, the Wisconsin-Green Bay commit worked her way around three defenders before taking a shot while falling. She managed to lift the ball over Fowler and into the back of the net.

Stark, who joined the North Stars her junior year after spending her first two seasons at Bartlett, said playing for this team has meant everything and if she could go back and make the decision again, she would.

“I wouldn’t trade these two years for anything,” Stark said. “I loved those girls I had my first two years and I love these girls now. I don’t think I would trade this experience for anything in the world.”

The North Stars ended the season with a 19-3-5 record and their best finish at state since 2012, when they lost to Naperville North 1-0 in overtime. They also earned second place in 2004, losing to New Trier 2-1 in the state final.

The team will say farewell to the eight seniors who took the field for the final time. Harks, who said he wanted to see his players leave everything on the field in the championship game after their 1-0 state semifinal win over Fremd on May 31, said the seniors, and all the players for that matter, did exactly that.

“They dug deep and found a level I don’t think they even knew was there,” Harks said. “Every 50/50 ball, every opportunity, they made the most of it. This is such a great group of seniors and they definitely did a great job representing the program, the school and the town.”