Sacred Heart Prep maintained its hold on first place in the West Bay Athletic League boys’ soccer race with a 6-1 win over visiting Eastside Prep on Wednesday.
The Gators (5-0, 6-4-1) actually had to rally from a 1-0 deficit, but did so quickly as Ricky Grau, Andrew Segre and Frankie Hattler all scored in the first half, with Will Mishra providing two assists and Segre one.
Grau, Sebi Surraco and Isaac Polkinhorne provided goals in the second half, with Segre assisting on Grau’s goal as the Gators won their fifth straight after opening the season 1-4-1.
In San Jose, Menlo School remained in second place in the WBAL race with a 2-0 victory over host Harker.
The Knights (3-1-1, 5-3-2) were quickly ahead after a mistake from the Eagles’ goalkeeper led to a tap-in goal from sophomore forward Will Chisholm within the first minute of play, his fifth league goal of the season.
The Knights drew confidence from their early lead and continued to threaten the Harker goal, with senior captain John Strong and junior midfielder Jackson Wagner both forcing good saves from the keeper. Harker created a few chances as the half wore on but Menlo junior goalie Alex Moore was up to the task, securing his third league shutout with a commanding display.
Menlo pressured Harker repeatedly in the second half, looking for a second goal and the Knights were justly rewarded when junior midfielder Peter Rosston recovered a loose ball in front of the Eagles’ box and fired a dipping shot into the top corner of the Harker goal with under 10 minutes to play.
In Los Altos Hills, host Pinewood fell to King’s Academy, 4-1, while the Priory at Crystal Springs match was not reported.
In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo-Atherton rallied from a one-goal deficit at halftime and earned a 2-2 deadlock with host Burlingame.
Jorge Lopez provided the Bears’ first goal on an assist from Mario Rodriguez. The two hooked up again in similar fashion in the second half with Lopez getting his second goal as the Bears moved to 3-1-1 in league (6-2-1 overall).
In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Palo Alto stretched its winless streak to four matches following a 2-0 loss to host Fremont. The Vikings (1-2-2, 5-5-3) could not convert more than 10 shots on goal in the first half, including three one-on-ones with the Fremont keeper.
Fremont scored off a corner kick with just minutes left in the first half. The second half continued with Paly having several scoring opportunities. A second Fremont goal was scored on a single player counter attack, taking on two defenders and hitting a deflected shot past the Paly keeper.
In the SCVAL El Camino Division, Gunn got its first league win of the season as senior midfielder Elyas Daadi scored twice in a 3-1 victory over visiting Monta Vista. The Titans (1-3-1, 4-6-2) got assists from Brenton Atwood and Luis Hernandez on the first two goals before junior midfielder Julian Buchel added a final tally with Daadi assisting.
Girls basketball
Menlo-Atherton snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating Capuchino, 68-65, in a PAL South Division basketball game Wednesday night in San Bruno.
With senior co-captain Emma Heath scoring six of her 22 points midway through the first quarter, the Bears jumped out to a 15-4 lead and it looked like they would cruise to an easy victory. But, the Mustangs kept coming back to close the lead to two near the end of end of the half.
M-A pushed the lead to 15 at the end of third quarter with Junior forward Naomi Baer scoring five of her 17 points and freshman Post Ofa Sili scoring all 10 of her points. However, in the fourth Capuchino roared back with 24 points.
The Mustangs’ Brianna Deckman hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to make it a two- point game. In the final seconds, M-A converted a free throw and protected the ball to put the game away.
Boys basketball
With senior Keesean Johnson leading the way with 15 points, Palo Alto strengthened its hold on second place in the SCVAL De Anza Division race with a 66-31 romp over visiting Saratoga on Wednesday night.
Johnson also pulled down six rebounds while junior Kevin Mullin had 13 points and four steals for the Vikings (3-1, 8-7). Senior Noah Phillips finished with 12 points seven rounds and six assists as Paly won for the third time in its past four games.
In the SCVAL El Camino Division, Gunn’s Chris Russell poured in 28 points, but the Titans fell behind by 11 points at halftime and never were able to make up the difference while dropping a 67-65 decision to host Fremont. Alex Gil-Fernandez added 13 points with Patrick Skelly scoring 12 for Gunn.
In the PAL South Division, host Menlo-Atherton (3-2, 10-6) won its second straight with a 55-33 win over Capuchino.
Girls soccer
Palo Alto remained unbeaten in its ninth straight match following a 4-0 victory over visiting Homestead in SCVAL De Anza Division action Wednesday. The Vikings improved to 3-0-2 in league (6-2-3 overall) and haven’t lost since Dec. 5.
Julia Kwasnick provided the eventual winning goal off a corner kick by Aoi Sugihara with 23 minutes gone in the first half. The Vikings (3-0-2, 6-2-3) put the match out of reach in the second half with three quick goals. Tess Preisling made it 2-0 with Sunny Lyu assisting, Megan Tall pushed the lead to 3-0 as Alison Lu assisted and Jacey Pederson wrapped up the scoring on another assist by Lyu. Sarah Lim and Megan Valencia shared keeper duties while sharing the shutout.
In the SCVAL El Camino Division, Gunn dropped a 2-1 decision to host Santa Clara. The Titans (2-2-1, 5-3-2) fell behind by 2-0 at the half before rallying in the second half on a goal by Ming-Ming Liu, assisted by Caroline Anderson. Gunn, however, wasn’t able to get the equalizer as its brief two-game win streak came to an end.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports