GIRLS' SOCCER: M-A heads to CCS as PAL champ

Gunn's loss to St. Francis a blow to Titans's title hopes

The Menlo-Atherton girls' soccer team will clinch the Peninsula Athletic League (Bay Division) championship this week, perhaps without playing a match.

Gunn, however, is running out of time in its chase for the SCVAL De Anza Division crown.

The Titans suffered a major setback in their title hopes last Friday, falling to firstr-place St. Francis, 3-1, at Gunn. Playing on a muddy field and dodging raindrops throughout the afternoon, the Titans played the Lancers even for a half.

St. Francis, however, broke the 0-0 deadlock with a penalty kick early in the second half. The Lancers scored twice more while Gunn managed a single goal by senior Rachel Hoffman.

Entering this week, St. Francis was 11-0-1 in league while Gunn remained in third place at 8-1 (11-3 overall). The Titans had a chance to overtake second-place Los Gatos in a scheduled match Monday.

Menlo-Atherton, meanwhile, was expected to be named PAL champs during a league meeting Monday night. With fields still soggy from the recents storms and little chance of completing the second half of the division schedule, the Bears (5-0, 14-2) will go into Saturday's CCS seeding meeting as the Bay Division's top-seeded team.

--Keith Peters

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