It’s fair to say that Sara and Rachel Noel have gotten used to sharing things with each other.
They share a birthday.
They share physical features.
They share food.
And clothes.
And shoes.
They’ve also spent their lives sharing the same soccer fields, but only in this case do the usually inseparable twins get to break away from each other.
“It’s quite the contrast,” Woods Cross girls’ soccer coach Dave Newman said. “You’ve got one sister whose sole intent in life is to stop the ball going in the goal, and you have the other one absolutely desperate to get the ball in the goal.”
When the two girls still were learning the game, Rachel decided it would be more fun to deny goals while Sara found joy in scoring as many times as she could. Their choices in positions proved to be successful for both as the identical twins became a terrifying tandem on the field.
While the two girls grew up playing a variety of sports, soccer always was a favorite. Whether in their backyard or at nearby Mills Park in Woods Cross, Rachel and Sara always could be found trying to best each other in juggling contests or a shootout.
“It was all about just going out there and trying to one-up the other,” Sara said.
“But then it would get heated and someone would get mad because they were being one-upped,” Rachel said. “When we were young, it would always end in a fight.”
Despite their competitive nature, the two sisters never would stay mad at each other for long. Even after Sara gave Rachel a microfracture in her arm with a particularly heated shot, all they wanted was to get back out and practice some more.
After beating up on each other in the yard, the girls honed their skills in the higher levels of club soccer, although both girls were forced into playing different positions than they had envisioned.
“I’ve kind of always wanted to play goalie, but my coach would always put me in the field,” Rachel said. “But our goalie [current teammate Olivia Barton] hated it, so one day at tryouts he was like, ‘Fine, you can go be goalie.’ ”
Sara, on the other hand, was pushed into a more defensive-oriented position.
“For some reason, they put me in the defensive midfield,” Sara said. “I hated it. So often I would push up and still try to score. I don’t know why I was played there because I didn’t even think I was good at that position. But ever since we got to 11 vs. 11, I’ve been playing attacking forward, and I’m much happier now.”
As the girls’ teams gained experience, they said they were too busy enjoying playing and winning with their friends to think about high school. But their mother, former University of Utah women’s basketball player Hillary Noel, could see what was ahead.
“We definitely thought about it,” Hillary said. “I can vouch that all the parents were very excited when we realized how good these girls were going to be when they got to high school.”
When the Noels reached the high school ranks as freshmen, Newman knew they were going to be a handful.
“They came in as freshies and were super competitive from the get-go,” Newman said. “But they were a little bit mentally all over the place as 14-, 15-year-old girls typically tend to be. But they’re not all too different from each other in terms of their attitude toward life. They’re incredibly hard-working girls and they earn everything they get.”
While that freshman class has proven to be immensely talented, Newman knew he had some special pieces in the Noel sisters.
“Rachel is probably the best female goalkeeper I’ve worked with,” he said. “She saves things that it seems like she has no right to be saving. She’s a very, very brave goalkeeper as well. When you combine those two attributes together, she’s very special.
“Then Sara has just got a pace change that when that extra gear kicks in, that overdrive, she’s gone. She’s just a real handful to try and defend. Somehow her dang long legs escape with the ball and you’re just left saying, ‘How did she get out of there?’ ”
Despite the praise from their coach, the girls acknowledge they weren’t always ready for varsity.
“I’m a lot more confident now than I was,” Rachel said. “I wanted to play, but I wasn’t as confident in myself when I started. I’d tell some of the girls what to do and they would look at me like, ‘You’re a freshman. I’m not listening to you’. Mentally I’ve grown a lot stronger. I’m able to bounce back after being scored on a lot faster. I just feel like confidence is such a big thing, and that comes with the experience and playing as much as we have.”
Sara said: “Confidence is important for me as well, but I think the way my game has changed has been key. Our club coaches would change a lot, so I had a lot of different coaches growing up. Each of them would have me work on different aspects of my game. Sometimes I worked at playing the 9 [attacking midfielder], sometimes it was more about holding or making different runs and being more creative. It took a lot of practice.”
After earning all-state honors and scholarships to Utah State University last season, there’s one last feat the Noels hope to accomplish at Woods Cross.
“Our goal is definitely to win state,” Rachel said. “We’ve come so close the past couple of years.”
But the girls know heaping pressure on themselves won’t help.
“We can’t get caught up in just winning state,” Sara said. “We’ve talked about making sure that we still have a good time and that the girls are having fun because that’s when you play at your best.”
GIRLS’ SOCCER PREVIEW <br>Class 6A <br>2016 champion • This is the first year of Class 6A <br>Outlook •Two-time defending state and national champion Davis is the favorite to come out on top of Region 1 and win the state’s first Class 6A soccer title. Region 2 is up for grabs with Hillcrest being the only team to make a state tournament last season. Copper Hills will have to fend off Herriman in Region 3, while American Fork and Lone Peak likely will duke it out for the Region 4 crown. <br>Class 5A <br>2016 champion • Davis <br>Outlook • Woods Cross, with nine returning starters, is primed to take the top spot in Region 5 with last year’s region champion, Bonneville, remaining in Class 4A. Region 6 sees state runner-up East having to fend off Skyline, Murray, Olympus and Highland. Defending champion Timpview will have to fend off Alta to win another region title, while Springville will try to reclaim Region 8 after an early exit from the state tournament last season. <br>Class 4A <br>2016 champion • Timpview <br>Outlook • Snow Canyon will be looking to claim the top spot in Region 9 and make another deep tournament run, but it will have to go through defending region champion Desert Hills. Spanish Fork should be the most experienced and talented team in Region 10. Last year’s Class 3A champion, Juan Diego, will be tested in Region 11 with Bonneville joining familiar foes Park City, Tooele and Stansbury, while 3A runner-up Logan will attempt a return to the title game if it can handle Ridgeline and Mountain Crest in Region 12. <br>Class 3A <br>2016 champion • Juan Diego <br>Outlook • Morgan, South Summit and Summit Academy will battle to decide a winner in Region 13. Delta, Maeser Prep and Juab will fight for the Region 14 crown, while Manti, Emery and Grand County will be the frontrunners in Region 15. With several of these schools escaping 2A, expect the state tournament to be entertaining. <br>Class 2A <br>2016 champion • Waterford <br>Outlook • Waterford and Rowland Hall will be the favorites in the new 2A North, while the 2A South is much more open with Gunnison Valley, Millard and Parowan all possibilities to claim the region. Waterford and Rowland Hall most likely will decide the Class 2A state champion whether in the state title game or whichever team beats the other earlier in the tournament.