Staying on top is tough Staying on top is tough (December 21, 2005)

Menlo girls avert upset, but Gunn boys suffer their first setback

by Keith Peters

Donoson Fitzgerald and David Burgee have much in common when it comes to their respective soccer teams.

Fitzgerald has his Menlo School girls' team atop the PAL Bay Division while Burgee has his Gunn boys leading the SCVAL De Anza Division. In order to remain there, however, both coaches know they will need consistent efforts the remainder of the season.

Both squads were not consistent in their most recent outings, but Menlo was able to escape while Gunn was not.

The Knights (4-0, 7-1) overcome a sub-par effort in the first half with an aggressive second half and posted a 2-0 victory over host Menlo-Atherton last week.

The Titans (1-0, 5-1), however, could not overcome the loss of four starters and suffered a 2-1 setback to Harbor in the annual Homestead Christmas Cup at De Anza College on Saturday.

Both teams appear the class of their respective leagues, and should remain that way if both can overcome lapses in effort and health issues.

"We have 10 games left," Fitzgerald said. "We're in a good position. The kids, however, will have to bring a consistent effort."

That wasn't the case against Menlo-Atherton (1-3, 5-6-1), which took it to the Knights with its aggressive play.

"In the first half, they (the Bears) outplayed us," Fitzgerald said. "M-A was getting to the ball first in the first half."

The Bears, however, could not get the ball past Menlo sophomore keeper Cayley Bowles and had to settle for a scoreless first half.

"They left the door open for us in the second half," Fitzgerald said. "Our kids got more aggressive and Ariel (Rogers) was able to get a couple of goals."

Rogers, a junior, took a corner kick from senior Molly Lapolla and gave the Knights a 1-0 lead early after intermission. With about two minutes left in the match, Rogers provided the insurance goal off an assist from freshman Katie Howard.

It was a frustrating loss for M-A coach Jenna Carson, whose team dominated in the first half and did everything but score.

"We had breakaways, free kicks and corner kick scoring chances that we just didn't convert," said Carson, whose team has been battling injuries. Senior Wendy Funk, for example, was playing with a sprained ankle and got off just two shots.

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, praised his defense for tightening up on the Bears in the second half. Bowles (first half) and fellow sophomore goalie Liz Daly (second half) both came up with some key saves to preserve the shutout.

The Gunn boys allowed Harbor two opportunities and the Santa Cruz-area team capitalized on both. Otherwise, it was the Titans' game.

"We're a far-better team than Harbor," said Burgee. "They played a low-pressure defense, didn't amount much of an attack and just waited for us to make a mistake. We basically gave Harbor two chances and they scored on both."

Gunn also didn't help itself by missing a penalty kick and a number of other makeable opportunities. The Titans also played without starters Avery Naar, Brandon Der, Felippe DeCorwin-Martin and Alex Granieri. Naar and Der were away building homes with Habitat for Humanity, DeCorwin-Martin was ill and Granieri was on a trip to Europe.

"We might have had 15 players and seven of them were reserves," Burgee said. "We were pretty depleted. We missed our entire center-midfield and two outside backs. We should have won that game 4-0 or 5-0."

Harbor took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a corner kick before Gunn junior Sam Zipperstein tied it up.

Earlier last week, Gunn opened defense of its SCVAL De Anza Division title with a 1-0 win over host Homestead. Amar Ghose provided the winning tally on a penalty kick.

That same afternoon, Palo Alto (1-0-1, 2-4-2) got its first league win with a 1-0 decision at Santa Clara. Senior Eric Wardenburg scored off an assist from Ari Memar 10 minutes into the second half.

Senior Tommy Brown had a solid game in the cage for Palo Alto, making two big saves while directing the offense. Defenders Patrick Alonis and Shane Clark provided defensive support and Manuel Henriquez sparked the offensive effort with Wardenburg.

In other girls' soccer action:

Palo Alto 1-1 (2-3-3) got three goals from junior Chelsea Williams in a 3-0 blanking of visiting Saratoga last week. Junior Sarah Flamm assisted on two of the goals as the young Vikings pulled into a tie for third place with Mountain View.

In nonleague action, Woodside Priory (4-0) remained unbeaten with a 3-0 victory over host Valley Christian-Dublin last week. Sarah Montgomery, Cami Simpson and Zoe Ciuputu provided the goals, with Ciuputu adding an assist.

Pinewood (4-7-1) romped to a 7-0 win over visiting Eastside Prep as senior Carrie Weiss and freshman Sophie Rosseel each scored two goals. Alex Merriweather added one goal and two assists for Pinewood.

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