Girls’ Soccer: Sage continues streak

As the scoring chances came and went Thursday night, time seemed to be slipping away from the Sage Hill School girls’ soccer team.

The Lightning had come into their final Academy League game against Crean Lutheran, but they still wanted to finish strong.

“Twenty minutes left of our senior regular season,” senior midfielder Lauren Thunen, a bit agitated, yelled to her teammates midway through the second half. “Let’s go!”

Another senior, Rachael Jaffe, had the response.

Jaffe tapped the ball into the net in a scrum following a free kick in the 68th minute. That was enough for the Lightning, who beat Crean Lutheran, 1-0, on their home field.

Sage Hill (12-4-4, 8-1-1) finishes alone in second place in league. Rival St. Margaret’s (9-1 in league) clinched the title after beating Calvary Chapel Downey, 9-0, on Thursday.

But the Lightning will take momentum into next week’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, for which brackets will be released Monday at 10 a.m. Sage Hill has won its last six games since the first time it played Crean Lutheran, a 1-1 tie at the Saints’ field on Jan. 22. They’ve outscored opponents by a combined 35-0 in that run.

In that first Crean Lutheran game, Sage Hill connected passes well but couldn’t find the back of the net after scoring early in the first half. However, it showed a glimpse of the Lightning’s potential.

“We were connecting the ball so well and we just couldn’t finish the last shot,” said Duke-bound senior forward Lexi Magliarditi, who leads Sage Hill with 23 goals scored. “It was a grass field, so it was tough ... [but] I feel like after the last Crean game, our practices have stepped up completely. We’ve been working so hard to get where we are now. Going into CIF, I feel like we’re going to practice very hard. We’re not coming out winning league, but I feel like that will give us more motivation.”

Magliarditi had several chances in the first half Thursday to score her 24th goal, especially in the first half. But the shots often went just wide. Crean Lutheran goalie Jackie Lari also made a nice save at the left post after Magliarditi dribbled through three Saints defenders in the 18th minute.

“Jaffe and [senior midfielder] Claire [Novotny] have gotten so many balls through,” Magliarditi said. “We’ve just tried to force that this season, because that’s how we know we’ll get opportunities at goal. It was just about finishing them, this game and the last game against them.”

Crean Lutheran (9-4-4, 5-3-2), which finished third in league, provided some scary moments for the hosts in the opening minutes thanks largely to the midfield play of junior Roya Leuteritz. But every time she would play he ball up to a forward, a Sage Hill defender was there to take it away.

As the clock wound down in the second half, Jaffe earned a free kick just outside the box from the left. Senior Tiffany Taylor took it, and the goalie came out as the ball deflected off Novotny. It went right to the feet of Jaffe, who tapped it in for her 16th goal of the season.

“It was a scramble, and I was in the right place at the right time,” Jaffe said. “It’s really culminating and really exciting that we get our last league home game.”

After the goal, Sage Hill Coach Mike Hammond quickly moved Jaffe back to defense, where she closed out the game along with fellow defenders like Taylor, Julia Lowe, Jaclyn Gerschultz and Madeline D’Amico. Junior goalie Sarah Lowey made four saves, including a diving stop to her right on a cross-cage shot midway through the second half.

Thunen, Novotny and Janis Jin were solid in the midfield for Sage Hill, and sophomores Taylor Magliarditi and Kate Briggs split time and created chances up top.

“I like playing with my sister because I can yell at her and make me play me good balls,” Lexi Magliarditi said with a laugh of playing with Taylor Magliarditi, who is fourth on the team in goals (nine) and third in assists (five). “We’ve been assisting each other’s goals all season, so it’s been really fun playing up with her.”

They hope to extend that run next week when CIF starts. The core group of seniors helped Sage Hill advance to the Division 5 quarterfinals as sophomores in Hammond’s first year at the helm. Last year, Sage Hill lost in the second round of the Division 4 playoffs.

“We want to keep playing as far as we can,” Lexi Magliarditi said. “We know each game could be our last.”