Archrivals fire blanks

NEWPORT COAST — Sage Hill School senior Kellee Kim found herself in an unusual position.

Kim, the assistant director of Sage Hill’s production of Cinderella, is accustomed to standing behind a spotlight.

But Monday night, Kim and the rest of the Sage Hill girls’ soccer team were standing in it.

When 80 minutes wasn’t enough for Sage Hill or Academy League archrival St. Margaret’s to render a score, the stadium lights came up on the Lightning’s grassy stage for two more 10-minute acts.

When the shutout continued, the game ended after double overtime, a 0-0 tie.

The Lightning (6-7-2, 3-0-1 in the Academy League) walked away knowing St. Margaret’s (7-6-2, 3-0-1) wasn’t indomitable, and the Tartans walked away knowing Sage has yet to beat them.

The league decides how overtime will be handled. This year, there are no shootouts after 100 minutes of play. Sage Coach Chino Cid was perfectly fine with that.

“I really don’t know why they don’t want to do shootouts,” Cid said. “I don’t really like the overtime either, so I’m OK with just hey, 0-0, both teams tie. Let’s go home. Especially playing them. They’re usually a powerhouse to us in soccer, so we’ll take the tie.”

Despite outshooting St. Margaret’s, 12-4, the Lightning couldn’t find the net, though they came painfully close.

“We’re really pleased that we were dominating the game and that we kept up with them,” said Kim, who has been splitting time between Cinderella and the soccer team. “At the same time, they’re a strong team. We’re big rivals. Next time [Feb. 5 at St. Margaret’s], we’re just going to go all out again, and hopefully we get it in.”

Tartans junior goalkeeper Valerie Gilmore bobbled two of her saves, which could have been possible scores had anyone been close enough to challenge her. The first time it happened, in the 36th minute, freshman midfielder Megan Kim, Kellee’s sister, had hit a clean a shot right in the middle of the goal. Gilmore struggled momentarily, but gained control of the ball.

The second time, Kellee had a shot in the second overtime, and Gilmore almost dropped the ball.

The Lightning were fortunate to have Kellee, who decided to play soccer part-time in her last year at Sage Hill before heading off to play for Harvard. Kim, who plays club soccer, took a hiatus from the high school team last season, but returned this year so she could play with Megan.

“Mentally, [the elder Kim’s] endurance in the game is superb,” Cid said. “She plays club soccer at a high level and she’s always able to get a little more out of herself.”

St. Margaret’s may have had but a few shots, but the ones it did take were dangerously good. Sophomore midfielder Christina Hart kicked a shot from the right between two Lightning defenders in the 59th minute to give sophomore goalkeeper Hannah MacLeod one of four saves, all solid two-hand catches.

MacLeod also stopped junior Mary-Rachel Walsh’s free kick from about 25 yards out with less than seven minutes left in regulation.

“I can’t say enough about [MacLeod],” Cid said. “I know she has had a lot of back pain, back spasms this year, and I know she had a rough weekend with that. To come in and do the saves that she did — they didn’t necessarily have a lot of chances, but they had quality chances — and she was there. The girl’s phenomenal.”

The Lightning shut down the St. Margaret’s offense in overtime. The Tartans, who were missing two of their three captains due to injuries sustained earlier in the season (a broken leg and a torn anterior cruciate ligament), didn’t get a single shot on goal. Sage Hill had two.

It was the fifth time Sage Hill has shut out an opponent this season and the eighth time the Lightning have failed to score.

“I think it’s a well-fought game for both teams,” Cid said. “The ball literally could have gone either way. We’re happy with the result, but it’s going to be decided on their field I guess.”

SORAYA NADIA MCDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].