Girls’ Soccer: Novotny sisters lift Sage

Due to their age difference, Claire and Maile Novotny have rarely played on the same girls’ soccer teams growing up.

Claire is a junior at Sage Hill School, and Maile (pronounced “Miley”) is a freshman. This year, they’re enjoying playing together on the Lightning varsity squad.

What happened Tuesday night was more than just enjoyable. The Novotny girls teamed to produced one of the biggest goals in Sage Hill program history.

Claire scored the game-winning goal on an assist from Maile in stoppage time late in the second half, allowing Sage to stun rival St. Margaret’s, 1-0, in an Academy League game at the Lightning’s field.

“Sister-sister combo, I guess,” Claire Novotny said with a laugh after the final whistle, which meant that Sage Hill stays alone in first place in league with four matches left.

Sage Hill (10-4-2, 6-0 in league) has beaten St. Margaret’s twice in a season for the first time in program history. After finishing second to Crean Lutheran in league last year, the Lightning players appear on their way to the second league title in program history, and first since 2008. They are now two games ahead of second-place St. Margaret’s (6-3-3, 4-2).

Second-year Sage Hill Coach Mike Hammond had reason to laugh, too. Just a minute earlier, he had substituted Maile into the game. She immediately made it work, taking the ball from Claire and running toward the right corner flag, before crossing the ball back to her sister at the top of the box. Claire’s shot went into the upper-left corner of the net.

“We were talking about it,” Hammond said. “I said to [assistant] coach [Megan Cid], ‘I think this could be the super-sub.’ No kidding. And she ends up playing great ball to her sister. It’s just one of those lucky subs, where it just works.”

It was an emotional win for Sage, which had lost its leading goal scorer, junior Lexi Magliarditi, to a left leg injury in the 65th minute. Magliarditi, who is left-footed, wore a large ice pack taped to the back of her lower leg the rest of the game; Hammond said she jammed it and thinks she has avoided serious injury.

“That really sucked,” Claire Novotny said. “I was getting ready to play an overtime and stressing out, like, ‘Maybe she can come in during overtime.’ She’s such a vital part of our offense this season. I don’t know. We just didn’t give up. When we huddled there together, [goalie] Kekai [Whitford] and [forward] Paige [Burke], our two seniors, came up and were talking. They were like, ‘We’ve got this guys. Don’t give up. Play for Lexi.’”

As stoppage time continued after Novotny’s goal, the Tartans increased the pressure. After a deep throw-in, sophomore midfielder Blake Crawley was able to get a shot off in the box, but Whitford recorded her sixth save and deflected it out of danger.

In the first half, Whitford had kept the game scoreless by leaping to deflect a shot by Crawley from about 30 yards out over the cage. Whitford, headed to Loyola Marymount for volleyball, is an anchor of a Sage defense including juniors Tiffany Taylor, Rachael Jaffe and Jaclyn Gerschultz. The Lightning have not allowed a goal in 480 minutes of league play. Taylor, particularly, was also impressive Tuesday with several deep clearances.

“If you’re not allowing goals, you’re going to compete every game,” Hammond said. “[Taylor] is probably one of the most skilled players on our team. If I put her in the midfield, she’d probably be the best midfielder in the league.”

Midfielders Lauren Thunen and Maya Roston also consistently created scoring chances for the Lightning, who also defeated St. Margaret’s on the road, 1-0, in the league opener Jan. 6 on Magliarditi’s first-half goal.

St. Margaret’s senior goalie Angelika Robertson, a Corona del Mar resident, made three saves for the visitors, including a couple of big close-range ones on Magliarditi in the first half. Robertson is just one of several Newport residents on St. Margaret’s, a list that also includes Kinsale Hueston, Amanda and Katherine Leasure, Leila Modjtahedi, Anne Otterbein, Kate Ramm and Cailin Young. Modjtahedi, a junior, and Young, a freshman, were impressive on defense for the Tartans.

St. Margaret’s Coach Johnny Marmelstein, whose players came over to congratulate a hobbled Magliarditi after the game in a classy gesture, also was complimentary of the rival team. He said he believes Sage Hill, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division 4, can make a deep playoff run. St. Margaret’s, ranked No. 10 in Division 4, finished third in league last year but won the Division 5 title.

“Hopefully, Lexi’s not seriously injured and she can come back,” Marmelstein said. “I like they way that they play. They’re competitors. They fight hard. If they can stay healthy, they could do some damage in our division. I just think they’re big and fast and strong and well-coached ... They can make a long run in the playoffs.

“Obviously, we’d like another shot at Sage,” he added with a smile. “If they get to the finals, we’ll see them there.”

That would be fine with Claire Novotny, who has come up clutch twice against the Tartans. Last year, she scored the game-winning goal on a free kick when the teams played for the first time in league. At the time, that was the Lightning’s first win against St. Margaret’s since 2008, but Sage is now 3-0-1 in its last four league games against its rival.

“I mean, it’s one of the coolest things ever to feel like you’re part of Sage history,” Novotny said. “This team, we just all love each other so much. I’m so excited.

“Our junior grade really is like the backbone of this team. Everyone is a piece of it. The juniors, we’ve been a part of this team so we have some experience. We know what it’s like to play St. Margaret’s. Every time we play them, we just get hungrier and hungrier, I think. This year, it feels so good and we’re ready to win it.”

Novotny was OK with a freshman playing a big role too, of course, especially because it was her younger sister.