SHERMAN OAKS — The Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame girls soccer teams could have used an age-old Western adage Tuesday night to set the tone for their match.
“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us.”
Both teams entered the contest undefeated in Mission League action, but Harvard-Westlake’s 2-1 victory now separates the teams in the standings.
Harvard-Westlake (14-2-1, 5-0 league) extended its winning streak to six games and now stands alone in first place, although Notre Dame (13-2-2, 5-1) will get another shot at the Wolverines next week in the league finale.
Deep defensive grit and fast-moving offenses characterized Tuesday’s match, creating a game of moments where each pass, tackle and dribble dictated the course of events. From the opening kickoff both teams displayed their preparation and talent.
Wolverines head coach Richard Simms knew the game would be down to the wire.
“The players are very familiar with each other from both teams, a lot of them play club soccer together,” Simms said. “We had a game plan but it was tight, it could have gone either way.”
The game played out according to Simms’ words. Both teams started the night playing fast, with Notre Dame bringing defenders forward into the attack and both teams taking shots from all over the pitch. It took until the second half for Simms to tell his team to slow the game down.
Notre Dame opened the scoring with a goal in the 19th minute. In a strong display of patience and tackling, freshman midfielder Fabianna Gutierrez dispossessed the defender and dribbled past another, finding herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. She faked her shot, sending the goalie one way as she then tapped the ball into the center of the net.
Despite the deficit and the subsequent shots from the Knights, the Wolverines managed to claw one back before halftime.
After a foul inside the box on junior striker Kaia Santomarco-King, senior Gemma Ozturk stepped up to take the penalty for Harvard-Westlake. Cool as a cucumber, she struck the ball into the top-right corner, sending the teams into halftime with one goal apiece.
“Everybody was doing their job, so we were super happy at halftime,” Simms said. “It just felt like we needed to stick to the game plan and we’ll get a chance at some point.”
That point came in the second half, off the right foot of freshman defender Sabrina Puathasnanon.
Puathasnanon scored the game-winning goal on a free kick from over 40 yards out. She struck the ball with enough power and accuracy to sail it over Notre Dame’s goalkeeper in an uncatchable shot.
The goal set set off a big celebration by the Wolverines players and faithful with 20 minutes remaining in the contest.
“I’ve seen her do it before,” Simms said. “So I was very calm in the moment but also very happy.”
Besides her game-winning free kick, Puathasnanon played a key role in establishing Harvard-Westlake’s defensive identity during the game. Her size and physicality allowed her to clean up loose balls in the box and challenge attackers for possession in the air.
Puathasnanon’s season hasn’t been without hardship. After missing time early in the year with injury, she returned to be an engine in the Wolverines’ defensive line. Her go-ahead score in a rivalry game will remain a key moment in her young high school soccer career.
Harvard-Westlake will look to extend its win streak to seven when it hosts Sierra Canyon on Friday at 5:15 p.m. Notre Dame will attempt to go back to its winning ways when it travels to face Chaminade on Friday at 5 p.m.
The teams will finish league play, and the regular season, by meeting one more time on Feb. 5 at Harvard-Westlake.