Gunn and Paly boys locked in a battle Gunn and Paly boys locked in a battle (January 14, 2005)

Both teams remain unbeaten and on a collision course

by Keith Peters

The Palo Alto and Gunn boys' soccer squads, weather permitting, will meet sometime this season and finally decide which team has the inside track to the SCVAL De Anza Division title.

Until that time arrives, the Vikings and Titans likely will continue what they did this week - win convincingly.

Gunn (4-0-1, 13-1-2), limited to a 12-man roster due to injuries and illness, still had plenty to overcome host Santa Clara, 4-1, Wednesday. Gilmar Arellano and Ryan McDermott each produced a goal and an assist, while Alex Guzinski and Brandon Der added single goals.

Palo Alto (4-0, 7-2-2) rallied from a one-goal deficit in the first half to post a 4-2 triumph over winless Fremont. Estevan Guerrero gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute when he took a corner kick from Ben Flamm and knocked it in. The visiting Firebirds, however, rallied with two goals just eight minutes apart to grab the halftime lead.

Jean Choi's unassisted goal tied the match early in the second half and Pierre Meloty-Kapella put the Vikings on top for good when he took a pass from Manny Barragan and scored just three minutes later. Meloty-Kapella provided an insurance goal, following several deflections, with two minutes to play.

On Monday, Gunn posted a 2-0 blanking of visiting Lynbrook. After a scoreless first half, the Titans got a goal from McDermott (off an assist by Guzinski) for the eventual winning goal. Ian Barnett later provided an insurance goal on an assist by McDermott.

Palo Alto got a hat trick from Barragan to highlight a 4-1 victory at Monta Vista. Barragan scored off a cross from Flamm in the opening 10 minutes, volleyed a cross from 18 yards out from Ed Chang into the second half for a 3-0 lead and finished off his career day with an unassisted goal to cap the day's scoring.

Danny Duarte provided the other goal (in the first half) when he was tripped in the penalty box and was awarded a penalty kick. He converted for a 2-0 advantage.

In the PAL Bay Division, Charlie Beavis and Spencer Collum provided goals to lift host Menlo-Atherton to a big 2-0 victory over Burlingame. The triumph was the Bears' first and moved them from last to sixth at 1-3-2 (2-6-3 overall). The win also avenged last year's season-ending loss to Burlingame in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

Menlo (2-3-1, 6-3-3), meanwhile, dropped a 3-1 decision to host Westmoor and fell six points behind tri-leaders Woodside, Sequoia and Westmoor (all at 4-1-1).

Girls

Palo Alto took over first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division race Wednesday. The Vikings (3-0-1, 8-1-4) got two goals from senior defender/midfielder Lisa Johnson in a 2-0 victory over host Homestead. The Vikings can strengthen their hold on first place today when they host second-place Mountain View (2-0-3) at 3:30 p.m.

In another De Anza Division match, Gunn grabbed a first-half lead on a goal by senior Stephanie Randall, but the Titans couldn't hold the lead and fell to visiting Los Gatos, 2-1.

On Monday, Paly got two goals from sophomore midfielder Sarah Flamm in a 4-1 victory over visiting Los Altos. Johnson gave Paly a quick 1-0 lead before Flamm scored the first of her two as the Vikings took a 2-0 halftime lead. Junior forward Elle Burstein, who assisted on Johnson's goal, made it 3-0 with a goal of her own in the second half. Flamm finished the scoring with an assist from Johnson.

Gunn stayed close to the leaders with a 3-1 victory at Saratoga. Junior Katherine Vining provided the first goal off an assist from Morgan Holland. Vining then assisted on a goal by junior Katja Davis and Randall closed the scoring with an unassisted goal in the second half.

In the PAL Bay Division on Tuesday, Menlo-Atherton (3-3, 8-5-1) and Menlo (2-3-1, 6-4-2) each snapped losing streaks with shutout victories.

Katherine Daiss scored two goals while Kim O'Donnell and Kaitlin McGhee added solo goals in a 4-0 victory by M-A over visiting San Mateo. For Menlo, Jenna Ryan followed in a shot by Kelley Finch and the Knights made it stand up for a 1-0 triumph over host Aragon.

Menlo-Atherton is five points out of second place while Menlo is two points out of third place.

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