Palo Alto teams take Palo Alto teams take (February 18, 2004)No. 1 seeds into CCS

Vikings will have the opportunity to win boys' and girls' championships for the first time in school history

by Keith Peters

If the weather cooperates, the Palo Alto boys' and girls' soccer teams this week will begin their quests for a little history in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

While both squads have won two CCS titles each, none have come in the same season. The Viking girls won their first in 1980 and shared the 1982 crown with Saratoga. The Paly boys won in 1998 and 2000.

Should both teams manage to finish on top next weekend, it would truly be a first for the Palo Alto soccer program.

The Paly boys (16-4-1) will put their No. 1 seed in Division II on the line Wednesday (weather permitting) with a home match against No. 16 Prospect (10-2-4) at 2:30 p.m.

The Paly girls (14-2-3) will take their No. 1 seed in Division I into their second-round match Saturday at Milpitas High (2 p.m.) against the winner of Wednesday's match between No. 9 Mountain View (14-2-2) and No. 8 Santa Teresa (9-9-1).

In other CCS openers Wednesday, the No. 2 Gunn boys (13-3-5) will host No. 15 Independence (8-4-8) in Division I action while the No. 4 Menlo-Atherton boys (11-3-6) will play host to No. 13 Live Oak (13-6-3). Both matches begin at 2:30 p.m. All second-round matches are scheduled for Saturday. The boys' Division I and II finals are tentatively set for Feb. 27 and the girls' Division I title match is set for Feb. 28.

Paly girls' coach Jeff van Gastel, for one, is happy to be in Division I this season.

"I am glad I am not in D-2," van Gastel said. That division includes four tough private schools in Notre Dame-Belmont, St. Francis, Mitty and Presentation. "Division I is still tough, though, and we will need to play well to be successful."

While he hasn't seen Mountain View this season, van Gastel did see Santa Teresa in the Vikings' Winter Classic tournament in December. Santa Teresa has reached the past three CCS Division I title matches, but the Saints started this season slow and are just beginning to roll after finishing third in the Blossom Valley Athletic League (Mt. Hamilton Division). Mountain View, meanwhile, won the SCVAL El Camino Division.

The Palo Alto High boys and girls put the finishing touches on league championship seasons with shutout victories over rival Gunn last Thursday. The Viking girls (10-1-1) got two goals from senior Kat Stolpa in a 7-0 romp over host Gunn (3-7-2, 7-9-3) in the SCVAL De Anza Division finale for both teams. Stolpa was named MVP of the league this season while Austinn Freeman was named Junior of the Year.

It was the third straight division crown for Paly, which went 12-0-1 after losing its division opener to Los Altos. During that time, which included two nonleague wins, the Vikings outscored the competition by a remarkable 60-1.

The Paly boys (10-2) defeated visiting Gunn (6-2-4) on Thursday, 3-0, as junior Pierre Meloty-Kapella scored twice and senior Michael Bianchi once. It was the Vikings' second win over the Titans this season. Paly clinched its first outright league crown since 1999 with a 1-0 win over Mountain View earlier in the week.

The Paly girls showed their readiness for the postseason with another dominating performance against Gunn, which handed the Vikings a 2-1 loss in the semifinals of the Palo Alto Winter Classic in December. That, and a 2-0 loss to Los Altos, are the only blemishes on the Vikings' schedule this season.

Stolpa, headed for USC next season, provided the eventual winning goal in the eighth minute against Gunn. Her second goal, in the 52nd minute, made it a 4-0 game. Junior Lindsey Stirrat, junior Lisa Johnson, senior Emira Cowan, senior Rachel Hamilton and senior Danielle Miller all scored goals. The goals by Miller and Cowan were their first of the season.

In the boys' match, Paly coach Don Briggs started all his seniors - Pedro Duarte, Jeff Hering, Justin Nolley, backup keeper Will Snyder and Bianchi - for the Vikings' final regular-season home match. Paly outshot Gunn, 14-6, while registering its third straight shutout.

In other soccer finales last week:

The Menlo School girls (5-5-4, 11-6-4) played PAL Bay Division champion Carlmont tough before falling, 1-0, to the host Scots. The Knights finished fourth in the league and did not receive a CCS Division III berth, as expected.

In the West Bay Athletic League, Castilleja closed out its season with a 4-0 win over host Mercy-Burlingame. Nicole Kalinske scored three times for the Gators.

In the Private Schools Athletic League, Pinewood closed its season with a 4-0 loss to visiting Valley Christian-Dublin. The Panthers finished 2-5-1 in league (4-11-3 overall).

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