Publication Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Palo Alto girls win soccer title, await CCS seed
Palo Alto girls win soccer title, await CCS seed
(February 11, 2004) by Keith Peters
The Palo Alto girls' soccer team is taking it easy this week, in a manner of speaking. While the Vikings still have two matches remaining on their schedule, they've already wrapped up their third straight SCVAL De Anza Division championship.
That title-clinching, however, wasn't pretty. In fact, the Vikings didn't even win.
A scoreless tie with visiting Saratoga was all Paly (8-1-1, 12-2-3) needed to wrap up a top seed for the Central Coast Section playoffs that begin next week. The scoreless match, however, ended the Vikings' streak of scoring in 10 straight matches.
"Saratoga had no desire to win the game," said Paly coach Jeff van Gastel. "As the second half progressed, they just booted the ball upfield to no one. After the game, their girls celebrated like it was the CCS championship. It (ticked) me off even more because they are in fourth place and they really needed to win to assure themselves of getting into the playoffs. Instead, they were just happy not playing and tying."
The tie also cost Paly a couple of points, which help toward the CCS seeding.
"The more points we have," van Gastel said, "the later we probably get to play a private school team (in CCS)."
The Vikings didn't face a private school until the CCS semifinals last season. Still, their season ended there in a loss to Presentation. Paly had 25 points entering this week, with matches remaining against Homestead and Gunn (3-5-2, 7-7-3).
Paly still hasn't lost in its past 11 matches and has outscored the opposition during that time, 48-1. In league play, the Vikings hold a 40-1 scoring advantage in the past nine matches.
Gunn (3-5-2, 7-7-3) remained in fifth place in the division following Thursday's 2-2 deadlock with visiting Homestead. Kira Price and Becky Ngoon scored for the Titans. Liz Lowe and Katja Davis combined to assist on the first goal while Urlie Kapitulnik assisted on Ngoon's goal.
Menlo School (4-4-4, 10-5-4) remained in fourth place in the PAL Bay Division with a 1-1 deadlock with host San Mateo. Kelley Finch scored on a penalty kick for the Knights, who are nine points behind third-place Burlingame in the race for the league's third automatic Central Coast Section berth.
Boys soccer
The De Anza Division race will be finalized this week, with Palo Alto and Gunn having the opportunity to tie for first place.
The Vikings (8-2, 14-4-1) needed to beat second-place Mountain View on Tuesday and then have to defeat visiting Gunn (5-1-3, 12-2-4) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., in order to claim the championship with 30 points.
Gunn, which played host to Santa Clara on Monday and Los Altos on Tuesday, needs to win those matches and beat Paly to win the title. Should the Titans win the first two and Paly loses to Mountain View, Gunn and Paly can tie for the division crown with 25 points apiece by tying each other Thursday.
Paly helped itself last week with a 1-0 win over host Santa Clara as Pierre Meloty-Kapella's goal on an assist from Michael Bianchi proved to be the difference. Vikings' keeper Harrison Newkirk was outstanding in goal with numerous saves.
Gunn, however, hurt its chances by tying Mountain View, 1-1. Alex Guzinski's penalty kick staked the Titans to a 1-0 first-half lead.
Boys basketball
Eastside Prep improved to 21-1 overall by handing visiting Mid-Peninsula its first loss in Christian Private Schools Athletic League play, 73-33, Thursday night.
The Panthers (6-0) led by 19 at the half and by as many as 40 points in the second half. Myron Jordan knocked down four three-pointers and tallied 19 points to lead Eastside Prep, while Keith Garner added 14 points and Gio Connor had 10. Mid-Peninsula's Da'Ron Maxie was held to a season-low 10 points, all in the first half.
Eastside Prep began this week with an 18-game win streak. The loss for Mid-Peninsula snapped a 10-game winning streak. The Dragons, however, bounced back the following night to crush St. Thomas More, 83-39. Walter Washington's 17 points led Mid-Peninsula (10-1, 16-5).
In the De Anza Division, co-leader Palo Alto (8-1, 20-3) has three games remaining in league play - including a home game Thursday against Gunn (4-5, 13-11) at 7 p.m. A special tribute before game will be held for John Barrette, Paly's coach when it won the 1993 Division III state championship. Barrette passed away Jan. 30.
In the Private Schools Athletic League, Sacred Heart Prep (13-0, 20-2) took a big step toward the league title by crushing second-place Redwood Christian, 84-44, Saturday. Sophomore guard Pat Coffey scored a career-high 25 points while senior Tyler Holand added 24. The Gators can clinch a title tie with a victory Friday, then win the crown outright next week.
Should Menlo-Atherton (9-1, 20-3) and Woodside (9-1) win Wednesday, they'll meet Friday at Woodside (7:45 p.m.) for the PAL South Division title.
Girls basketball
De Anza Division leader Palo Alto (8-1, 19-5) needs to win its final three games to wrap up a third straight championship. Saratoga (8-2) put the Vikings in that situation by defeating them, 64-48, last week. The Falcons, however, did knock off third-place Homestead (6-3) on Saturday, pretty much leaving it a two-team race. Paly visits Homestead on Wednesday.
Castilleja (9-1, 19-5), which visited Mercy-Burlingame Tuesday, will play host to Notre Dame-San Jose on Monday (6 p.m.) with the West Bay Athletic League title at stake. The Gators won three times last week, the latest a 65-14 rout of ICA. Kate VanderPloeg's 15 points led Castilleja.
Wrestling
Gunn (5-0, 9-0) can win the SCVAL El Camino Division dual-match title by beating visiting Santa Clara on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The meet will be a final tuneup before the SCVAL Championships on Saturday at Los Altos High.
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