ETHS field hockey: Wildkits record season ends

A record season for Evanston’s field hockey team ended with a bit of a thudSaturday at the Illinois High School Field Hockey Association state tournamenthosted by Glenbrook North High School. But a 2-0 loss to Loyola Academy in the third-place game, and a 3-0 loss to NewTrier in last Thursday’s semifinals, couldn’t dim the luster of the accomplishments for the Wildkits in 2026. Coach Annie Lesch’s team established a new school single-season record forvictories, finishing 16-8 overall, and reached the Final Four for the second time in program history. The back-to-back playoff losses still enabled ETHS to match the fourth-place postseason showing back in 2023. And while other programs in Illinois might have regarded Evanston’s first trip back in 2023 as a possible fluke, there’s no doubt now that Lesch has built the program into one that is going to contend for a Final Four spot on an annual basis. That’s why both New Trier and Lake Forest, powerhouse programs that between th