LHSS Hockey Star Sarah Sabo Proving Girls Can Be Enforcers Too

When some folks hear that there’s a girl playing regularly on the boys ice hockey team this season, the immediate thought some probably have is that it must be some kind of equality thing.

Others probably figure, the girl in question must be some dainty, little figure skater-type, who skates so fast that no one is worried that she’ll get hit, because she’s too fast for anyone to get close to her.

Well, those folks are in for a big surprise when they finally see dynamic sophomore Sarah Sabo in person.

“What can I say, she’s our enforcer,” Lancers head hockey coach Dan Bertarelli said. “It’s the part of the game, where if you get the chance to do it, you start to relish the chance to put a shoulder into somebody.

“And as a coach, you always look for players that like the contact, and she doesn’t shy away from it at all, that’s for sure.”

Boy is that an understatement.

Just ask the Clayton High player—a pretty hefty-sized boy mind you—who, just one minute into Lutheran South’s game last Friday night, made the mistake of skating too close to Sabo with his head down watching the puck instead of looking for the freight train coming right at him.  

Sabo, a 5-foot-7-inch, 100-something pounder (even if she plays hockey, it’s never polite to ask a lady her weight), saw her chance and didn’t even hesitate to knock her stunned opponent right on his butt.

“I do that sometimes just because people think ‘oh she’s a girl, she’s not going to do anything,’” Sabo said. “And sometimes I like to show some people that girls can hit. I’ve been playing with guys since I was 5, and I like to hit people. It’s fun.”

Knocking boys to the ice aside, what sets Sabo apart is she’s really good at her job.

Sabo gets regular ice time as a second-line defenseman/defensewoman for the Lancers, and plays many minutes for the Lancers at full-strength, on the penalty kill, and even on the power play.

In fact, in Friday’s 5-2 Lancer win over Clayton, Sabo was plus-three for the night, meaning she was on the ice for three of South’s five goals and was part of a group that didn’t allow Clayton to score at all when they were on the ice.

“We’d heard all about her before she got here,” Bertarelli said. “She skates so good. She skates so crisp. And she moves the puck. She’s smart, knows how to play.

“And then, she fits so perfect. You could put her on any team in our division, and she’d fit right into a top four defensive role.”

Sabo’s play has been so solid that some college scouts have already begun to take notice.

She’s already received offers from two prep schools in Canada that would love to have her join their programs, while also getting her ready for the college game.

“Playing in college would definitely be my dream,” Sabo said. “Since I’m already a sophomore, Canada might be too far right now, but I definitely want to play in college.”

Right now though, Sabo, who played on youth league girls teams for the Affton Americans, St. Louis Cyclones, and the St. Louis Lady Blues, is perfectly content with pursuing her goal by knocking around the boys, and helping her 10-6 Lutheran South squad possibly chase down its first Mid-States Hockey Association championship.

“Hockey’s my life,” Sabo said. “My dad got me one of those (plastic toy) hockey sticks with the giant plastic puck when I was little, and I’ve been in love with the sport ever since.”

“Last year, with my AAA team, we were gone like every weekend. And it takes a dent out of your social life, but it makes up for it when you play. So, I wouldn’t change it for nothing.”

And nor should she, because rarely before has a fish out of water fit in so well, as the sensational Sarah Sabo does as Lutheran South’s enforcer on the ice.

“We just love her to death,” Bertarelli said. “She practiced with us a couple of times before, and we invited her out to play. But she didn’t play last year. And then, she came out to join us this year, and it’s just been fantastic.

“If she keeps working hard, and skating hard, I can’t see any team that she wouldn’t be able to make. And that’s boys or girls. She’s very skilled.”