The Palo Alto High School boys’ soccer team (8-0-1, 4-0) dominated the Mountain View High School Spartans (5-2-4, 0-1-1) on Friday at the Paly soccer field by a score of 5-0.

The Vikings controlled the ball throughout the game, using possession to keep the other team chasing them. According to head coach Don Briggs, this allowed him to change the lineup later in the game, when Paly was leading 3-0.

“We were able to possess the ball when we needed to,” Briggs said. “Ten minutes into the second half, we started putting people in different positions. Doing that is actually good for them because it gives them the chance to work on different things.”

The Vikings took advantage of their offensive opportunities much better than in previous matches, with goals by senior midfielder Cole Tierney, senior defender Cam Huard, senior forward Max Hallberg, senior midfielder Dami Bolarinwa and senior forward Ariya Momeny.

“We got five goals and we capitalized on most of our opportunities, which is an improvement from our other games,” Tierney said. “I definitely have more confidence now and I think a lot of people do because there was a wealth of goals. That’s always good to build confidence and have confidence in other people too.”

According to Mountain View head coach Jim Mcguirk, the Spartans struggled to adjust their defensive strategy against Paly.

“Defensively, we’ve played pretty good all year, but we didn’t play as good today,” Mcguirk said. “We didn’t adjust to how fast they were. There were things we could’ve done, like changed positioning to be in the right spots. We were in the spots that we’re in against other teams, but we didn’t adjust to their speed and get into different positions where we could handle their speed better.”

The Vikings worked together more effectively in this game than they had in previous weeks, according to Bolarinwa.

“We moved the ball, got open, found the time to pass and hold the ball,” Bolarinwa said. “It was really good to see how our team is finally clicking together.”

Paly will play Fremont High School (2-4-3, 1-1-1) at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Fremont.