Photos

A goal by senior Kendall Jager in the 72nd minute pulled the Sacred Heart Prep girls' soccer team into a 1-1 deadlock with host Priory in a key West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) match on Monday in Portola Valley.

The Panthers had taken a 1-0 lead at the 27:50 mark in the first half when Mariana Galvan fed Sarah Zuckerman in front of the cage, with Zuckerman finishing.

The goal came shortly after SHP junior keeper Blair Hamilton collided with Zuckerman in front of the cage and sufferd a slight neck injury. Hamilton left and game and was replaced by sophomore Mamie Caruso, who not only was facing a strong offensive Priory team but the bright sun. Within moments, the Panthers had scored.

Hamilton shook off her injury and returned in the second half.

Priory nearly had a 2-0 lead at the 12-minute mark of the first half, but Galvan's free kick from just outside the penalty box sailed just over the crossbar.

With the sun dipping and the temperature dropping in the second half, Sacred Heart Prep continued to push until Jager finally broke through with the tying goal.

Sacred Heart Prep fell to second place (behind Menlo School) at 2-0-1 (6-1-2 overall) while the Priory dropped to 1-0-2 in league (2-2-4 overall).

In the SCVAL El Camino Division, Palo Alto continued its recent offensive fireworks with a 6-0 victory over host Wilcox on a cold Monday night. The Vikings (3-0-1, 4-4-2) have scored 14 goals in their past two matches.

Paly got the eventual winning goal in the first half on a goal by Lena Chang, off a cross from Jacey Pederson. In the second half, the Vikings blew it open as Sunny Lyu scored two straight goals, Megan Tall scored for a 4-0 lead, Nina Kelty scored off an assist from Tall and Alyssa Maharaj wrapped things up off an assist from Aoi Sugihara.

In the PAL Bay Division, host Menlo-Atherton fell behind by 3-0 before eventually dropping a 3-2 decision to Carlmont. Sarah McLeod provided one goal for the Bears (1-2, 3-4-2) with the other coming on an own goal.

The Gunn at Saratoga match was not reported.

Boys' soccer
Menlo School got the upper hand in the first half and held on for a 1-0 WBAL win over King's Academy on Monday in Sunnyvale.

Knights' senior forward Ryan Karle took a feed from Max Parker from the left side for a goal with just under 12 minutes left in the half.

Menlo fended off several shots by the host team while countering with their own shots on goal. Timmy Costa recorded his fifth shutout of the season as Menlo moved to 6-2-1 overall and 3-0 in league.

The Knights take on Pinewood at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday.

In Atherton, Sacred Heart Prep opened a three-match homestand this week with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Springs in WBAL action.

The Gators (3-0, 6-2-1) remained tied with rival Menlo School as Robert Hellman and Andrew Segre tallied first-half goals. Will Mishra and Nick Salzman added assists, respectively.

SHP will host Eastside Prep on Wednesday and Harker on Friday, both at 3:30 p.m., before visiting Menlo on January 23 with sole possession of first place likely at stake.

In the SCVAL El Camino Division, host Palo Alto bounced back from its first loss in league play with a 3-1 victory over Wilcox. Chris Meredith made it 1-0 in the 14th minute off an assist from fellow senior Paul Stefanski, before Wilcox tied things up before halftime.

After intermission, Stefanski moved up from his left midfielder position to striker and scored a pair of goals within three minutes of each other, the first on assist from Cina Vazir.

"His attacking style disrupted Wilcox and, at one point, led to five corner kicks within two minutes," Paly coach Don Briggs said of Stefanski.

On the fifth corner kick, this one by Vazir, Stefanski directed into the cage to break the deadlock. The victory keeps the Vikings in a tie for second place behind Fremont, which handed Paly its first loss, 2-0, last Friday.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, host Gunn (1-2-1, 3-6-2) dropped a 1-0 decision to Saratoga.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.