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It’s quickly becoming evident that there may be no easy matches in the SCVAL De Anza Division boys’ soccer race this season, certainly not like last season when Palo Alto allowed only one goal while winning the division crown.
Paly coach Don Briggs probably would agree after watching his team escape with a 1-0 triumph over host Gunn on Tuesday afternoon in just another typical rivalry match between the schools.
The Vikings improved to 2-0 in league (5-2-3 overall) while the Titans fell to 2-1 (3-6) and out of first place.
Paly’s Kris Hoglund took a pass from Jenner Fox and put it past Gunn keeper Keaton Smith with about 10 minutes remaining in the second half for the winning goal.
The match was highlighted by very competitive play by both teams. Gunn had the stronger first half with the wind to its back. While the Titans had more shots on goal, most were from far out and off the mark. The second half swung over to Paly’s favor as the Vikings gained the wind advantage. Paly had several opportunities to score but was stopped by the nice defensive plays by Gunn’s Smith in goal.
Hoglund beat the Gunn defense several times, which led to several one-on-ones. While Smith broke up the first two, Hoglund put the third one away to win the match. Paly had to hold on as Gunn responded with five minutes of a frenzied attack, including a set play that was trapped up against the cross bar for a moment by Paly’s keeper Scott Alexander. It fell to the ground and was cleared by Mark Raftrey. Alexander had several nice saves in the waning minutes.
Nittai Malchin, Peter Laminette and Raftrey did a nice job of thwarting Gunn’s attack and Fox and John Richardson controlled the midfield attack.
Boys’ basketball
Levente Juhos missed nearly all of the preseason with an injury, but the 6-foot-9 senior transfer student from Hungary has made up for lost time.
On Tuesday, he had a coming out party with 17 points, 16 rebounds, two steals and a block to lead Priory to a 56-51 victory over visiting King’s Academy in a West Bay Athletic League game.
With Keaton Carano out, Alex Peyser and 6-7 freshman Gabor Somogyi picked up the scoring load with 10 points each, while Ray Ross and Ricky Dolezalek provided great defensive pressure for the Panthers (1-2, 6-6), who had to withstand nine three-pointers by the visitors.
In Atherton, Sacred Heart Prep dropped out of a tie for first place in the WBAL following a tough 55-50 loss to visiting Harker on Tuesday night.
Harker (3-0, 11-2) took over sole possession of the league lead while knocking the Gators (2-1, 8-5) into a tie for second. Sacred Heart trailed by nine heading into the fourth quarter. Junior Reed McConnell led SHP with 17 points. The Gators will host neighborhood rival Menlo on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
In East Palo Alto, Pinewood (2-1, 9-3) moved into a tie for second place with a 68-42 thumping of host Eastside Prep on Tuesday night. Pinewood held its host to just 25.3 percent shooting (18 of 71) while winning the rebounding battle, 48-19.
Senior Max Lippe led Pinewood with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while sophomore Dante Fraioli added 13 points, six rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Cameron Helvey also stepped up with a season-high 10 assists in addition to tallying eight points.
Pinewood pulled away from a first-quarter tie (11-11) with 40 points over the next two quarters. Eastside Prep (0-3, 2-10), which lost five seniors off last season’s CCS Division V title-winning team, was led by junior Leslie Gray’s 13 points while sophomore Kyle Carter contributed 12. Carter recently was promoted from team manager and has found a spot on the team with his long-range shooting. All his points Tuesday came on three-pointers.
In Hillsborough, Menlo (2-1, 4-8) moved in a logjam at second place in the WBAL with a 58-40 victory over host Crystal Springs-Uplands. Harrison Nida led the Knights with 19 points while Mac Osborne contributed 14 and Richard Harris had 10. Menlo pulled away from a 9-7 first-quarter lead by outscoring Crystal Springs by nine points in the second quarter.
— Palo Alto Online Sports
— Palo Alto Online Sports
— Palo Alto Online Sports