Girls lacrosse: Loyola tops Benet for state title

HINSDALE – Continuous rain showers coated the pitch at Hinsdale Central during the girls lacrosse state title tilt June 1 between Benet Academy and defending champion Loyola.

“I hope that it doesn’t affect the game,” Loyola coach John Dwyer said less than 30 minutes before the opening faceoff.

“It could be worse,” Benet coach Amanda Kammes said en route to meeting Dwyer to wish him and his team good luck. “It could be snowing.”

After a dominant first-half performance by Loyola, Kammes and her team may have preferred a snowy pitch because Benet was unable to stop, let alone slow down the Ramblers juggernaut. Loyola bolted to its second straight state title and third in four springs with a 14-5 win at Dickinson Field at Hinsdale Bank Stadium.

“We came out slow our past two games so we wanted to show everyone we deserved to be here so we decided to go out 100% and never let up,” Loyola senior midfielder Emma Burke said. “I’m really glad and excited we were able to do this.”

Burke, a Michigan recruit whose four goals led the way for the Ramblers (21-3), helped establish control of the game in the early going. That led to a 5-0 lead after one of Burke’s four goals, the first of senior midfielder Jocelyn Park’s three scores and two goals in the final 1:33 of the opening stanza from midfielders Emily Couri, a junior who finished with two scores, and first-year letter-winner Jillian Rocchio.

Junior attacker Annie Devine added two more goals for the Ramblers, extending the lead to 11-1 at the break. Loyola went 11-of-14 (78%) on shots in the first 24 minutes of play.

Junior attacker Maddie Trapp accounted for Benet’s first two scores in the second and third quarters.

Benet junior midfielder Gianna Kurelko had two tallies in the final frame. Freshman midfielder Tierra Hammock also scored for Benet (23-3) in the final period.

Senior attacker Charlie Cassady added four assists for the Ramblers, who won their 15th state title overall going back to the days when the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association sponsored the state tournament.

Benet senior netminder Maddie Jensen, who will become a teammate of Burke in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this fall, delivered a 10-save effort.

“We didn’t really play our game in the first half. We left it all [out there] during the second half,” Jensen said. “These players – they’re so special. I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else. The future is so bright for this program and this team and I am so glad I got to be a part of it "

Kammes gave plaudits to her squad including the seven seniors: Jensen; Shannon Earley, a Notre Dame recruit who was named All-State along with Jensen at halftime; Eva Botsis; Jasmine Briggs; Peyton O’Neill; Dagny Tombaugh; and Molly Salvino.

“Every so often you get a special group of kids and you can have all of the talent in the world, but if you don’t have the right chemistry and the right culture, [it] doesn’t matter,” Jensen said. “This group’s remarkable. The seniors obviously are a wonderful group and set the tone and legacy for Benet. We weren’t on the map ever before these guys came in. I love them like they are my own children and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the year that we had.”