A night for cold, but not for Lightning

Two great shots doom Sage Hill, which can’t dethrone St. Margaret’s in Academy League showdown on Friday.SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO -- Two shots rang out in the San Juan Capistrano night. They weren’t from a gun and they didn’t come from Lightning.

The shots came from the St. Margaret’s girls’ soccer team in its 2-0 victory over Sage Hill in a key Academy League game on Friday.

The first shot came in the fifth minute of the game and resembled a cannon blast. The Tartans’ Jamie Schiffer caught up to a pass down the right side just outside the right corner of Sage Hill’s 18-yard box and one-timed a perfectly placed shot off the far post into the net.

“Jamie’s goal was one of the best high school goals, boys or girls, that I’ve ever seen,” St. Margaret’s Coach John Marmelstein said.

It was Schiffer’s 16th goal of the season.

Nearly midway through the second half, about when the shock of the first goal wore off, Nicole Sady-Kennedy gathered a ball that was partially cleared off a corner kick. From 25 yards out with her left foot, Sady-Kennedy unloaded a blast that hit the inside of the crossbar and caromed past the goal line to give St. Margaret’s a 2-0 lead.

“Defensively, we’ve been really strong, especially in the second half of the season,” Sage Hill Coach Amy Ray said. “They just had two really nice shots. It was just unlucky for us.”

St. Margaret’s is no stranger to playing under lights on grass that is wet from mist and with fog rolling in, but it was a different experience than what Sage Hill is used to.

“They are used to playing in wet weather at night,” Ray said. “This is only our second night game. But they are a great team. Johnny [Marmelstein] does a great job with them.”

Sara Becker and Kelsey Rose led a stellar defensive effort for Sage Hill.

Offensively, the Lightning could not capitalize on what few opportunities they had. In the first half, Emily Webb and Kara Percival had shots from 20 yards out, but Webb’s shot sailed high and Percival’s low line drive skipped once on the grass and required an awkward knee save by St. Margaret’s goalkeeper Chase Lind.

Kellee Kim had a couple of opportunities in the second half, including a shot in the last minute of the game that she redirected off a free kick from Webb, but both shots were saved.

“My focus all this week was to make sure the girls understood that defensive intensity in this game was very important,” Marmelstein said.

St. Margaret’s (12-5-2, 6-0-1 in league) all but clinched the Academy League title, with two games remaining.

Sage Hill (14-3-1, 5-1-1 in league), with games left against Capistrano Valley Christian and Whitney, have a secure hold on second place and a berth in the CIF playoffs.

“We have a lot to look forward to,” Ray said.

Academy League

St. Margaret’s 2, Sage Hill 0

Score by Halves