Sage denied top spot

NEWPORT COAST — A rain-soaked field, an injured starter and the strong front line of St. Margaret’s High, left Sage Hill School struggling to find answers. Those factors also left the Lightning in second place in the Academy League.

Going into the girls’ soccer match, first place was up for grabs in the Academy League, but it was the Tartans (10-4-1, 5-0 in league) who moved into the top spot, with a 3-0 win over host Sage Hill (7-6-2, 4-1) Wednesday.

Sage Hill’s tireless backline, led by freshman sweeper Sanna Moore and senior goalkeeper Hannah MacLeod, was in the middle of the action for the majority of the game. Faced with constant pressure by St. Margaret’s speedy offensive attackers, defense was Sage Hill’s only strong point.

But the Lightning could hold on for only so long.

With less than two minutes to play in the first half, St. Margaret’s sophomore striker Katie Donahue cradled a through ball at the 18-yard box elbow, beat not one, but two Sage Hill defenders and slotted her shot to put the Tartans up, 1-0.

As the second half got underway, there was an obvious imbalance on the field. St. Margaret’s was able keep the ball on Sage Hill’s side of the field for most of the second half. Sage Hill produced minimal counter offensive opportunities and was getting beat to the ball in the midfield.

“I had [Campbell Moore], our usual left fullback, out with a sprained MCL and I had to put one of our midfielders on the back line,” Coach Rodrigo Cid said. “I don’t think it hurt us because the defense played great, but offense is where we now need to improve.”

The improvement must happen soon. These two teams meet again in two weeks for the final game of league play and Sage Hill needs to find an answer for St. Margaret’s overwhelmingly athletic squad.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Tartans’ athleticism was on full display.

After a deflected corner kick, the Lightning left Tartan sophomore McCaully Patch wide open at the top of the box where she knocked a 25-yard, left-footed shot into the back of the net, putting St. Margaret’s up, 2-0.

And with little being produced from the Lightning’s offense, Sage Hill had no choice but to tough it out as St. Margaret’s continuously pounded the ball up field and into the heart of the hosts’ back line.

With three minutes left, senior midfielder Amy Gutierrez finalized the scoring.

“The final score today is not really indicative of how good the girls played,” Cid said. “The defense played awesome and between these two teams, it usually ends up going into overtime or being a one-goal game. But, that is why we are looking forward to playing them again in two weeks.”

Sage Hill and St. Margaret’s will face three more league opponents over the next two weeks before squaring off again in a match that may be a battle for a share of the title for the Lightning, or an outright championship for the Tartans.

“It’s very fun playing them,” Cid said. “We go back and forth and we love playing each other. We have to play hard and take care of our next three games and hopefully have a chance at a shared title when we go over [to St. Margaret’s] in two weeks.”