Publication Date: Friday, February 13, 2004
PREP SOCCER
Title for Paly boys a step toward taking care of business
Title for Paly boys a step toward taking care of business
(February 13, 2004) by Keith Peters
Michael Bianchi and his fellow seniors on the Palo Alto boys' soccer team had a lot of unfinished business to attend to this season.
During the past three seasons, the Vikings had never beaten Gunn. Nor had they ever won a league title or advanced past the second round of the Central Coast Section playoffs.
"We wanted to leave Paly with a league title and at least get to CCS again, to show people how good we are," Bianchi said this week.
It looks like Bianchi will get his wish. The Vikings won their first outright SCVAL De Anza Division championship since 1999 on Tuesday by beating visiting Mountain View, 1-0, on a goal by junior Manny Barrigan.
Palo Alto (9-2, 15-4-1) played host to second-place Gunn (6-1-4, 11-3-6) on Thursday for bragging rights only. The Vikings already have beaten the Titans this season to accomplish one goal for the seniors. Both teams will CCS tournament play either Tuesday or Wednesday following Saturday's section seeding meeting.
Gunn moved into sole possession of second place in the division with a 4-3 win over visiting Los Altos (0-10-2) on Tuesday. Alex Guzinski, Eadon Jacobs, Ryan McDermott and Rivera all scored for Gunn.
Gunn is the defending CCS Division I champion while Paly reached only the second round of Division II play last year. Other local teams that should qualify for CCS include the Menlo-Atherton boys (11-3-6), Palo Alto girls (14-2-3) and Menlo girls (11-6-4).
On the bubble would be girls' teams from Gunn (7-9-3), Castilleja (4-4-1, 4-10-1) and Woodside Priory (6-7-2).
The Paly boys could be seeded either No. 1 or 2 in Division II, depending on where Valley Christian-San Jose (14-2-5) and Burlingame (14-3-3) factor in.
Palo Alto is in this position today, despite the fact the seniors have played for four different coaches in four years. Most of the seniors - Justin Nolley, Pedro Duarte, Jeff Hering, Bianchi and backup goalie Will Snyder - were on the frosh-soph team when Mike Arzabal was the head coach in 2001. As sophomores, they played for Tom Skousen. As juniors, Greg Pinelli was in charge. This season, it's Don Briggs.
"Every year, you'd come out and expect something new and different," Bianchi say of the coaching carousel. And, that's exactly what the Vikings got. Something different. This inconsistency in coaching styles led to inconsistent play.
"We always gave away some games, lost some close games we should have won," Bianchi said. "This year, we've eliminated most of those games. That has enabled us to win league this season."
That, and two other factors.
"One," Bianchi said, "we've mentally stayed in it the whole game. Two, it was getting a team down and keeping them down. Strike early, strike often."
For Briggs, it has been a learning experience, for sure. He admitted to knowing little about the opposition the first time through the league.
"I didn't really know what to expect," he said.
Until, however, a bumpy stretch midway through the league season where the Vikings lost two of three games and fell to third place. The Vikings dropped a 1-0 decision to visiting Santa Clara on Jan. 8 when the Bruins scored a goal in extra time. On Jan. 15, also at Paly, the Vikings allowed two goals within 45 seconds during a 2-1 loss to Los Gatos.
"That was a meltdown," Briggs said of those two home losses, Paly's only league defeats. "At that point, it was what kind of team are we going to be?"
Briggs received a quick answer.
"The players took it as a rallying cry," Briggs said of the losses. "We were really at a crossroads there. That's when the seniors began to step up. I saw a real determination by the kids."
Paly went on to win six straight matches, moving into the De Anza Division lead and holding off all challengers. Now, of course, there's yet another challenge ahead with the CCS playoffs.
Briggs, however, isn't pointing toward a title - like the ones Palo Alto captured in 2000 and 1998.
"Our goal is to be competitive every game," he said. "I just want them to walk off the field knowing they played their best game."
If that happens, Bianchi and his fellow seniors just might conclude their prep careers with something very special.
Girls soccer
Palo Alto, which clinched the De Anza Division title last week, kept its momentum rolling with a 5-0 win at Homestead on Tuesday. The Vikings (9-1-1, 13-2-3) grabbed a 3-0 lead at halftime, the final tally coming on a free kick by Leanna Racine from midfield.
"The ground was so hard, the bounces were screwy," Paly coach Jeff van Gastel said. "She hit a long ball and it went over two players' heads, bounced in front and then over the keeper into the goal."
Other Paly goals were scored by Austinn Freeman, Lindsey Stirrat and two by Kat Stolpa. Since losing its league opener to Los Altos on Dec. 16, Paly has gone 11-0-1 and outscored the opposition 53-1.
Paly closed its regular season Thursday with a makeup match at Gunn. The Titans (3-6-2, 7-8-3) fell to host Los Altos on Tuesday, 4-0.
In other girls' soccer action Tuesday:
Menlo School (5-4-4, 11-5-4) clinched fourth place in the PAL Bay Division with a 1-0 win over visiting Woodside. Kelley Finch scored off an assist from Sarah Horton, giving the Knights a four-point lead over fifth-place San Mateo with one match remaining - against undefeated league champ Carlmont.
Menlo-Atherton (4-9-1, 5-15-1) got a goal from Kate Rasmussen, but the Bears ended their season by falling to Carlmont, 3-1.
Castilleja got goals from Helen Ashton and Kelly Schryver in a 2-2 deadlock with Harker.
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