Palo Alto High School’s varsity girls’ soccer team drew with Los Gatos, 2-2, in a close and aggressive face-off, Wednesday at Paly.

"I remember watching last year," a spectator from Los Gatos said. "It was a bitter game and ended on a referee call. I would hate to see that happen again. Paly vs. Los Gatos games always end up being one of the most aggressive and exciting."

The first half started off with a laser from the top of the box by senior Austinn Freeman. However, Los Gatos immediately pressured Paly’s defense, and sophomore goalie Lindsey Spigleman was beaten by a lob to the top left corner. Towards the middle of the first half, junior Robin Chang crossed the ball to Freeman who headed the ball for her second tally.

For the remainder of the half, both teams had numerous scoring opportunities, including a Paly open goal shot off the post. Paly led, 2-1, at the half.

"We’ve had some trouble holding teams off after we get leads," senior Lindsey Stirrat said. "I was happy with how well we played in the first half, but when the second half started we were really excited and had trouble maintaining our lead."

Los Gatos came out with the momentum after the half. Spigleman made a close save on a corner kick as Los Gatos pressured Paly’s goal. Towards the middle of the second half, sophomore Rachel Steinberg had a break away shot at the goal but it was blocked by the Los Gatos goalie. After two more close saves by Spigleman, a Los Gatos player took a high corner shot that Spigleman couldn’t reach, tying it up, 2-2.

This game was one of the Lady Vikes’ most aggressive games, and it was especially difficult due to the poor field conditions. The weather was no help, with scattered showers throughout the second half.

Paly will play Los Gatos again at Los Gatos. The girls’ next home game is against Los Altos High on Jan. 10. The Paly varsity girls’ team currently stands at 6-1-4.

"We have a team with people on it who have been playing together all of high school," Stirrat said. "It’s really fun to be working together on and off the field. We had some struggles before the break and even though this game was a tie, we played really well as a team, had great communication, and hope to win league championships."