Publication Date: Friday, December 09, 2005
PREP ROUNDUP
M-A boys open
M-A boys open
(December 09, 2005)league soccer
with solid win
Menlo, M-A girls open
PAL season impressively
with lopsided victories
by Keith Peters
Soccer teams in the PAL Bay Division won't have to wait until next year to discover who's who and what's what this campaign.
The division opened play this week, with good results for nearly all the local teams.
The Menlo-Atherton boys (1-0, 3-2) showed a staunch defense on Wednesday, which helped the Bears hold off neighborhood rival Menlo, 1-0, as Menlo-Atherton goalie Adam Brownstein needed only to make one save. Menlo fell to 0-1 (3-4).
"It's nice to start league with a win," said second-year M-A coach Beto Luna. "Defense definitely was the key. They played well all day and were able to anticipate a lot of Menlo passes."
M-A's speed on defense was evident. Joe Cain, Billy Hale, Brian Vieth and Irvin Mendoza were among the numerous defenders who blanketed the Knights throughout the overcast day.
Tony Ayala provided the winning goal just into the second half following a cross from the left corner. Aside from that goal, Menlo keeper Jared Silver was very good, blocking a point-blank shot in the second half to keep his team in the game after the Bears had grabbed the lead.
Menlo, which starts seven sophomores, had trouble getting through the M-A defense most of the day. When the Knights did on one occasion, James Walker missed an open-goal opportunity, sending a shot wide right when Brownstein came out for the stop.
The Menlo-Atherton and Menlo girls also opened division play this week, with impressive winning efforts.
The Bears (1-0, 2-1) got two goals from Wendy Funk and two assists from Kim O'Donnell in a 3-0 win over visiting San Mateo. Kaitlin McGhee rounded out the scoring.
"The game wasn't pretty, but we played much better in the second half," said M-A coach Jenna Carson, whose team took on powerhouse Carlmont on Thursday. The Bears will travel to Fresno for a tournament Friday and Saturday.
Menlo opened PAL action with a 6-1 romp over Mills on Tuesday. Ariel Rogers finished off the day with a pair of goals after teammates Jenna Ryan, Molly Lapolla, Allie Crandall and Erica Swanson had all scored.
The SCVAL De Anza Division will open next week before teams take their Christmas break and return to league play in January.
The Palo Alto boys and girls will open against Mountain View on Tuesday, with the Vikings hosting at 3:30 p.m. with an eye on their first win of the season. The Paly boys are 0-4-1 following a 2-1 nonleague loss to St. Ignatius this week. Coach Don Briggs has loaded up his preseason schedule with nothing but tough matches and the results have shown just how tough.
Before Tuesday's opener, Paly will face Salinas in a Homestead Christmas Cup match Saturday at De Anza College at noon. The Gunn boys (2-0) will follow at 3:30 p.m. against Aptos. The Titans are coming off a 2-1 nonleague win over Leland, where Russell Wynne scored two goals on headers. Brandon Der assisted on both goals.
Boys basketball
Menlo (7-0) kept rolling while Gunn (5-2) kept improving following opening-round victories in the Burlingame Lions Club Tournament on Wednesday.
The Knights topped Terra Nova, 58-46, two days after upending Sacred Heart Prep, 49-47, in a nonleague outing.
Senior Blake Schultz scored a career-high 27 points in the win over Terra Nova, knocking down four three-pointers, while Beau Heidrich tallying 17 against the Gators. Kirk Lacob had 12 rebounds in Menlo's tourney win.
Gunn got a 26-point outburst from junior Peter Jordan in a 52-41 win over Menlo-Atherton (3-2), which got 18 points from Spencer Montgomery. Gunn's Nicky La Fleur made four straight free throws at the end of the game to help seal the win.
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