Publication Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2004
PREP SOCCER
Gunn boys starting
Gunn boys starting
(January 21, 2004)to make their move
After back-to-back ties, Titans finally break through
with a big victory over first-place Mountain View
by Keith Peters
When Dave Burgee looks back on his first season as head coach of the Gunn boys' soccer team, he may see last week's 1-0 victory over Mountain View as the turning point.
The Titans, after all, were coming off back-to-back ties in the SCVAL De Anza Division and were just a loss or two away from seeing their title hopes disappear.
"This game was critical for us in league play and CCS," Burgee said. "We had to win. This was a great result for us."
The triumph moved Gunn (2-1-2, 9-2-3) back in the thick of the division race, thanks to Palo Alto's 1-0 loss to Santa Clara. That keeps the Vikings (3-2, 9-4-1) in second place and Mountain View (4-1) still atop the league.
Mountain View came into the match at Gunn as the only undefeated team in the division. Gunn came in on the heels of 3-3 deadlocks with Fremont and Santa Clara - rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the former and losing a 3-0 lead in the latter.
Clearly, Gunn was a Ferrari stuck in neutral. That's not a good position to be in when competing in the De Anza Division.
"The De Anza Division is one of the toughest in the CCS," said Burgee. "Every team and coach bring a high level of intensity to every game."
Mountain View certainly had that intensity in the first half as the Eagles attacked repeatedly and thwarted every Gunn scoring opportunity. In the second half, the Titans turned up their intensity.
"We had more attacking opportunities in the second half," Burgee said. "And, our defense was a little better."
Still, nothing came easy for the Titans. In one sequence, Gunn's Bobby Bateman had the ball in the penalty box and Mountain View goalie Dave Ronconi was on the ground, with the ball between them. Ronconi, with the help of two defenders, somehow repelled Bateman's scoring attempt.
Gunn did finally break through when Anton Horwath's shot was redirected by Alex Guzinski and into the net.
Matt Marquess, solid in the midfield all day for Gunn, nearly added an insurance goal when he ripped a shot that caromed off the side of the cage. Max Zipperstein sparked the defense and helped give senior goalie Colin Van Hare his first shutout. Van Hare, involved in a serious auto accident over the summer that claimed the life of a friend, played only his first full match of the season after recovering from injuries.
Burgee hopes the victory is just the start of better things for his team, which still needs to show signs of consistency on a regular basis. That could come this week when the Titans visit both Los Altos (Tuesday) and Palo Alto (Saturday at 1 p.m.).
The Paly match begins the second half of the league season. The Vikings already hold an impressive win over Gunn and need to do so again to keep their title hopes alive.
In fact, this is a huge week for Paly. The Vikings, who played at Mountain View (Tuesday), also visit Los Altos on Thursday and then host Gunn. Beating the Eagles will give Paly a share of first place, then it's just a matter of holding on to it.
The Vikings came within a minute or two of escaping with a tie (and one point), but second-place Santa Clara (3-1-1) scored the game-winner one minute into injury time on a corner kick that wasn't cleared.
Paly coach Don Briggs singled out Ed Chang for creating offensive opportunities from the midfield, allowing Mike Bianchi and Pierra Meloty-Kapella to get off numerous shots that were deflected. Paly outshot the Bruins, 14-3, in addition to taking more corner kicks (8-3).
"This was an excellent, but disappointing game for Paly," Briggs said.
In the PAL Bay Division, second-place Menlo-Atherton (5-1-1, 9-3-1) kept pace with division-leading Burlingame (6-1) with a 3-1 victory at Carlmont (3-4). Javier Hil scored two goals, bringing his season total to 12, and assisted on one by Jonathan Rodriguez.
Sweeper Darren Borcherdt, stopper Spencer Collom and defender Josh Moffett were solid on defense in support of goalie Anthony Nikolchev.
The Bears should hold on to second place with games against Westmoor (2-3-2) and last-place Half Moon Bay (1-5-1) this week.
Menlo School, meanwhile, broke an eight-game winless streak by defeating host Hillsdale last Friday, 3-1. Art Heidrich scored with five minutes left to break a 1-1 deadlock. Ryan Cavan added an insurance goal while Jesse Sweet gave the Knights (1-2-4, 3-3-7) a 1-0 lead in the first half.
Menlo can move up in the standings this week with games against visiting Half Moon Bay on Wednesday and at Carlmont on Friday.
Girls
The hottest team in the area has to be Palo Alto, which has won six straight matches by the combined score of 29-0. The latest shutout victory came at the expense of host Saratoga last Thursday, 4-0.
The triumph moved the Vikings (4-1, 8-2-2) into sole possession of first place in the De Anza Division. Los Altos and Los Gatos are tied for second at 3-1-1.
"The last three we have started slow, but have dominated in the second half," said Paly coach Jeff van Gastel, whose team lead Saratoga only by 1-0 at intermission. "It must be my motivational speeches at halftime!"
Paly outshot the Falcons, 19-6, despite the fact senior Kat Stolpa was closely marked all day and managed just three good attempts on goals. Her teammates more than made up for that as Lindsay Stirrat scored twice while Kathy Nolan and Elle Burstein scored once each. Tessa Buchin, Dani Hanabusa and Rachel Hamilton all provided assists.
In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo School (3-2-2, 9-3-2) broke a two-match winless streak with a 2-0 win at Woodside. Kelley Finch scored both goals on assists by Molly Lapolla and Kate Bentley.
The victory earned the Knights a tie for fourth place with Aragon. Menlo hosts Menlo-Atherton (2-4-1, 3-11-1) on Thursday at 3 p.m., in a second-half opener crucial for both teams.
In the West Bay Athletic League, Castilleja (2-2, 2-8) kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-0 win over Mercy-San Francisco at El Camino Park. Kelly Schryver scored two goals for the Gators while Kelly Fitzgerald had a goal and an assist. Genny Orr got the Gators rolling with the first of three first-half goals.
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