Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week: Novotny clutch for Lightning
Beating Academy League rival St. Margaret’s is a goal of any Sage Hill team. In girls’ soccer, though, that goal hasn’t always been so realistic.
The Tartans have been the class of the league for years, winning four CIF Southern Section titles since 2006. When Claire Novotny came into the Sage Hill program two years ago, she learned just how intense the rivalry was.
“I remember my freshman year, the captains had a meeting before the season started,” Novotny said. “They listed on a white board, that we want to beat St. Margaret’s and that’s it. That was the main goal, just to beat St. Margaret’s. From freshman year, especially in my grade, the mindset was definitely that St. Margaret’s was our biggest competition no matter what. At that point, they definitely had the upper hand in the games.”
The Lightning couldn’t beat their rival that year, but the tides have definitely turned since. Sage Hill has gone 3-0-1 in its last four league meetings with its rival.
Thank Novotny’s right foot for two of those wins. She scored on a free kick the first time the teams met last year, the game-winning goal in what was at the time Sage’s first win over St. Margaret’s since 2008.
Novotny, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, has developed a reputation for being clutch. She was at it again in the teams’ second league meeting this year on Jan. 27. She can thank her freshman sister Maile, who crossed her the ball from the right.
Claire stuck it into the upper-left corner of the net in stoppage time in the second half, and Sage claimed a 1-0 victory that put it in the driver’s seat for its first league title since that 2008 squad. The goal was one of the biggest in program history so far.
Novotny scored twice more as the Lightning (12-4-2, 8-0 in league) clinched at least a share with Thursday’s 11-0 win over Whitney. Coach Mike Hammond’s squad can clinch it outright by beating defending league champion Crean Lutheran on Tuesday at home.
Claire Novotny, a junior forward who has committed to Grand Canyon University, has been instrumental for Sage Hill. She is second on the team to junior Lexi Magliarditi with 14 goals, and she leads the team with 11 assists. Novotny and her easy-going personality also thrives in a leadership role for Sage, as she’s a team captain along with junior midfielder Janis Jin and senior forward Paige Burke.
Burke and senior goalie Kekai Whitford are the only two seniors on the Lightning. Novotny is part of a very strong junior class, which has produced a big season in Hammond’s second year at the helm.
“It’s exciting to feel like we’re better [than St. Margaret’s], and that we have more of a chance than they do this time around,” Novotny said. “Everyone feels super-proud of the accomplishments that we’ve made, and how far we can go with this team. We haven’t won league since 2008, and people are talking about, ‘Wow, we can have our year [on the banner in] the gym. That’s exciting to think about. We want to keep pushing forward and hopefully go to the end.”
Sage is just a difficult team to play this year, with no notable weaknesses. Magliarditi, Novotny and Burke are all capable goal-scorers up top. Maya Roston, Jin and Lauren Thunen control the midfield, with Roston in more of an attacking midfield role.
Then there is the defense, which has yet to allow a goal in eight league games — 640 minutes of game time. Whitford, Tiffany Taylor and Rachael Jaffe are anchors in the middle, while Jaclyn Gerschultz and Julia Lowe are tough to get past on the outside.
Whitford, who is headed to Loyola Marymount for volleyball, earns plenty of praise from Novotny for her intensity.
“Kekai is like the heart of the team,” Novotny said. “She has this will to win all of the time. She’s just determined and never gives up. She expects the whole team to work as hard as she does, and I think that’s an essential part of the team ... Kekai really keeps everyone in check, and it’s nice.”
Novotny knows that Sage Hill has had more success in Whitford’s main sport than in soccer. That just may change this year, after Sage advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals last year before falling to No. 3-seeded La Canada in penalty kicks. Novotny also scored the winning overtime goal in the CIF second-round win against Paloma Valley.
This year, Sage moved up a division and is ranked No. 8 in Division 4. In club soccer, Novotny moved, too. She now plays for Hammond’s Irvine Strikers Under-18 team.
“I chose to do that because Mike has been really good to me,” Novotny said. “He’s always looked out for me and pushed me to work on new things. He expects a lot from me, but he only wants me to get better, and I know that. It’s nice to have that relationship with a coach, where he can be honest with you and you can be honest with him.
“Sometimes it’s hard to see him almost every single day,” she added with a laugh. “You’re just like, ‘Wow, we see each other a lot.’ But it’s great.”
Novotny always seems to be laughing or smiling. She can’t help but smile when asked about her sister, Maile, feeding her the assist to beat St. Margaret’s. It happened with Sage’s biggest threat, the Duke commit Magliarditi, out of the game with a leg injury. But the Novotny sisters were able to deliver.
“Maile and I haven’t really played together on sports teams in general,” Claire Novotny said. “High school was the moment where we finally got to play with each other, and to be in a big game like that with her was even better. It was kind of like one of those Hollywood cliche moments, you know?”
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Claire Novotny
Born: Jan. 13, 1998
Hometown: Irvine
Height: 5-foot-9
Sport: Soccer
Year: Junior
Coach: Mike Hammond
Favorite food: Mom’s stuffed peppers
Favorite movie: “Life is Beautiful”
Favorite athletic moment: Helping Sage Hill beat rival St. Margaret’s at home last week.
Week in review: Novotny, assisted by her sister Maile, scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time in Sage Hill’s 1-0 league win over rival St. Margaret’s on Jan. 27.
