Paly girls' soccer foes Paly girls' soccer foes (January 28, 2004)continue to shoot blanks

Vikings have outscored opponents by 38-0 while winning eight straight matches and taking control of division race

by Keith Peters

It was only one year ago that the Palo Alto High girls' soccer team was sporting a nice 12-0-3 record going into the final week of January. The team went on to win five more matches and tie one before having its season end in the Central Coast Section semifinals.

One year later the Vikings (6-1, 10-2-2) find themselves with more losses than in 2003, but perhaps are in better shape for the postseason.

First, the defeats have removed any pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season. Second, the Vikings' defense has been more miserly than Scrooge.

Heading into Thursday's showdown with visiting Los Gatos (4-1-2) in a 3:30 p.m. match that should go a long way in deciding the SCVAL De Anza Division title, first-place Palo Alto has posted eight straight wins while outscoring opponents 38-0.

That streak continued last week in a 2-0 win over visiting Los Altos (3-2-2), knocking the Eagles into fourth place and avenging the Vikings' only league loss this season.

"Defensively, we bent at times, but never broke," said Paly coach Jeff van Gastel. "Even though we were a bit shaky at times, the girls supported each other well. If one girl got beat, there was another one to get in Los Altos' way. I think the experience of the Paly team, and the fighter spirit definitely helped."

The victory gave Paly a four-point lead over Los Gatos and a six-point lead over third-place Saratoga (3-1-3) with five matches remaining.

"The game was a bit tighter than I would have liked," said van Gastel. "For some reason, Los Altos is the one team that matches up with us better than everyone else. They have speed in some key areas, and they pressure well as a group."

Los Altos was the last team to score on Paly, ironically posting a 2-0 victory on Dec. 16. Since then, the Vikings have done all the blanking. Leanna Racine, Lisa Johnson and Tessa Buchin have been among the defensive standouts for Paly.

Against Los Altos, Palo Alto grabbed a 1-0 first-half lead when Kat Stolpa took a pass from Johnson and muscled it into the goal. Stolpa's goal gave her six for the week. She had five goals and two assists in a 7-0 thumping of Homestead earlier last week.

In the second half, Buchin took a pass from Austinn Freeman and lobbed a pass toward the cage. The ball bounced over the keeper's head as she came out to defend.

From there, Palo Alto did its best to attack while playing cautiously to defend the shutout.

Elsewhere in girls' soccer:

Menlo School (4-2-2, 10-3-2) kept its postseason hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over visiting Menlo-Atherton (2-6-1, 3-13-1), all but ending the Bears' playoff plans.

Freshman Ariel Rogers scored the winning goal after Kate Bentley had scored in the first half, which ended in a 1-1 deadlock thanks to a goal by M-A junior Katherine Daiss.

The Knights remain in fourth place with 14 points, trailing third-place Burlingame (5-3-1) by two points and second-place Aragon (5-2-2) by three. Menlo visits Burlingame on Thursday and Aragon on Feb. 3.
Boys soccer

Palo Alto (5-2, 11-4-1) earned a share of first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division with a 3-0 blanking of host Los Altos last Thursday. That lasted only a day, however. Mountain View (5-2-1) retook the division lead despite settling for a 1-1 tie with Fremont on Saturday.

The Spartans, with 16 points, held a one-point lead over the Vikings entering this week. Paly on Thursday visits Los Gatos, which already has beaten Paly this season. Santa Clara (4-1-2) remains in third with 14 points while Gunn (3-2-1) is fourth with 11. The Vikings are coming off a 3-0 win over Los Altos last week. Mike Bianchi scored off an assist from Cameron Taylor to provide the eventual winning goal for Paly in the first half. After intermission, Pedro Duarte curved a direct kick into the right corner from 25 yards out for a 2-0 lead. Ed Chang finished the scoring with a sharp line drive into the lower left net.

Goalies Harrison Newkirk and Will Snyder shared duties for Paly while securing the shutout. Paly's defense limited Los Altos to just four shots.

In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo-Atherton (5-1-3, 9-3-3) suffered its second straight scoreless tie - this time to Half Moon Bay (1-6-2) -- and fell six points behind first-place Burlingame (8-1) with five matches remaining.

Menlo-Atherton can help itself by beating host Burlingame on Feb. 4.

Menlo School, meanwhile, used a 1-1 tie with Carlmont to move into a tie for fourth place with the Scots. The Knights (2-2-5, 4-3-8) have 11 points in league, four behind third-place Sequoia in the race for the three automatic CCS berths.

Scott Harris proved Menlo's goal off an assist from Ryan Cavan. The Knights play host to Burlingame on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

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