Erin Snoddy
  • Class of 2017
  • Glenwood, IL

Erin Snoddy and varsity field hockey teammates place third in State Championship

2014 Nov 7

"Our motto was "We play for snow" during the entire season."

Coach Diane Cooper breaks out into a smile as she recalls the past couple weeks. On November 1st, the LFA varsity girls field hockey team played against the Oak Park and River Forest High School Huskies for the third place spot in the Illinois State Championship Series. Diane comments, "The officials on that day said it was the most interesting game that they had ever refereed. It's definitely one to remember."

The Caxys finished sixth in the championship series last year and the girls were eager to push this season into the winter months.

Diane states that Erin would head to the field right after school. "The whole team would begin practice even before I was present. That's pure dedication. Erin has so much talent and it's astounding to see how hard she practices."

The girls' work paid off as the team worked its way up to the state finals. They entered the tournament in sixth place and won their first game against Highland Park High School 2-0. On October 28th, the LFA girls faced Loyola Academy and played a tight game of 0-0 until four minutes before time ran out. Senior Kristin Chivers managed to score, making the score 1-0. Although Loyola managed a surprise breakaway thirty seconds before the end of the game, goalie Caroline Miller pulled off an impressive save, making LFA one of the final four in the tournament.

The Caxys then played against the New Trier High School team. Diane says that while the LFA girls did not play their best game, they never gave up and fought hard until the end. "The game was tough but they kept going at it, especially our goalie Caroline. I'll also mention that New Trier's number of assistant coaches outnumbered our bench. This school has a huge team and it's impressive that we took them on."

Snow fell on Halloween, the day before the game against Oak Park and River Forest High School, which Diane says "just made sense."

On November 1st, a large group of Caxy fans clad in orange and black showed up to support the team. Diane comments that having the support of the community was really special. "Our girls were so touched. LFA is made up of 400 students and we were up against a public school with thousands of students. Yet our cheering section was still bigger. That says something."

The teams were evenly matched and each player showed off her skills throughout the game. Cece Boles made many stops and breakaways while Amanda Bozorgi, the quarterback, led the offensive team. However, by the fourth quarter, the Caxys were down by 1. The girls continued to play hard when a corner defensive foul was called on Oak Park thirty seconds before time ran out. Maggie Stoll, assisted by Lexi Silver, made a goal, bringing the game into ten minutes of overtime.

Neither team scored during overtime, forcing the girls into a shootout. Lexi Silver, Amanda Bozorgi, Emily Conklin, Izzy Moody, and Maggie Stoll were chosen to participate in the shootout. Diane explains the events that followed.

"Lexi air dribbled the ball and popped it over the goalie's head. The fan reactions to her creative shot were amazing. Amanda tried her best to score and Caroline saved the second goal against the Oak Park player. Emily and Izzy scored very easily afterwards. Caroline then saved another goal, which put all the pressure on Maggie to score. Maggie never faltered. She pulled the ball to her side as she ran and made a reverse chip shot, which sailed right over the goalkeeper. The fans, girls, all of us went wild. What a way to end the season."

The girls presented their trophy to Diane on November 7th during Morning Meeting as the entire school celebrated another state ranking.

Diane makes a final comment about the overall season. "This was a great team and I'm so proud of Erin and her teammates. I can't describe how great it is to make it to the state finals for a second year in a row, and that's all on the girls. Erin shows so much commitment to the team and she worked extremely hard during the season. I can't wait to see how she plays next year."