In the vivid and intense aftermath of the stunning conclusion of the Class 3A state title game Saturday night at North Central College, giddy release, joy, and inconsolable grief intertwined.

For all of it savvy, grace under pressure and poise, New Trier turned to the extraordinary play of two freshmen, keeper Annie Fowler and midfielder/forward Addy Randall.

Randall scored two goals, and Fowler made two showstopping and extraordinary stops during the penalty shootout for the 5-4 New Trier shootout victory after a 100-minute 3-3 draw.

New Trier captured the seventh state championship in program history. The Winnetka school completed a remarkable double not seen since Naperville North during the 2018-19 sports season.

In that school year, the Huskies boys capped a perfect season with the 1-0 victory over Libertyville in the fall, and the girls program outlasted Barrington in a shootout for the bookend titles.

New Trier established new benchmarks of excellence, setting a new record for consecutive shutouts in a season.

The Trevians also matched their peers on the boys side with earning the top-ranking of the Final 50, the exclusive statewide poll published by Chicagoland Soccer to honor the best programs of the season, public and private, regardless of class or geographical location.

Penalty shootouts seem a distinctly unfair and arbitrary way to create a winner between two talented and disciplined sides.

The previous two times the St. Charles North girls reached a state championship, they walked away as runner-ups: Naperville North scored a goal in the final minute of the fourth overtime for a 1-0 victory in 2012; and the North Stars fell 2-1 to New Trier coach Jim Burnside's 2004 undefeated team 2-1 in the old two-class system.

(Congratulations to North Stars' coach Brian Harks, who earned his 150th career victory with the 1-0 win over Fremd in the semifinal round.)

Overtimes of the past, with the golden goal, are now replaced by two mandatory 10-minute periods. Had the old rule been in place this season, St. Charles North would have received the top prize on the basis of the 83rd minute goal by Kaitlin Glenn

The top players hold a keen eye on the top prize, no matter the division of competition. In the Class AA tournament, Crystal Lake Central midfielder Olivia Anderson said the team was bound and determined to improve on its third place finish last year.

The Tigers, Notre Dame (Peoria) and Triad were about as tightly bound as scientifically and mathematically possible.

Crystal Lake Central played Notre Dame played a 2-2 draw in early May. Triad, after competitive early defeats against downstate Class 3A powers O’Fallon and fourth place-finisher Edwardsville, made its own charge to the state championship game.

The Knights’ 1-0 state semifinal victory over Notre Dame on a 74th-minute goal underscored just how tightly the matches were contested at the top of Class AA.

Let’s also give it up for teams that refused to yield, and fought through adversity and hard times to reach Naperville. In Class AA, Burlington Central started 0-5-1. That early schedule included high-level 3A teams as part of the Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational in St. Charles.

That early season tournament proved a true bellwether. St. Charles North beat Burlington Central in pool play, and then topped Crystal Lake Central in the championship game March 23 after the teams tied in a nonconference match March 12.

Burlington Central found its groove and went 12-2-0 in the 14 matches leading to the Final Four, where it finished fourth.

Their comeback story was surpassed by Class A power Althoff, which captured its second championship in four years with a 1-0 victory over Williamsville.

Playing teams like O’Fallon and Columbia, Althoff started 1-6-2. The Crusaders ended the season on a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1).

For just the second time in girls state history, all three state championships were played on the same day, at the same site.

On the final Saturday of the season, five games played out amid unpredictable rainy weather that only made the swings of emotion, feeling and desire that much more raw and visceral.

Whatever the conditions last weekend, the remarkable young players performed at their highest-possible levels.

Here is a final tribute to their accomplishments and capabilities.

Editor's note: FRSR, ranking from Week 9 of the Chicagoland Soccer polls.