Paly’s girls’ varsity soccer team beat Los Altos, 4-1, last week, winning a huge victory for Paly and remaining first in league.
Senior defender Lisa Johnson scored Paly’s first goal of the game in the middle of the first half. Less than a minute later, the Eagles struck back with a goal of their own. Not to be outdone, sophomore midfielder Sarah Flamm scored yet another goal for Paly with an assist from senior midfielder Austinn Freeman, not a minute later.
After scoring two goals in less than two minutes against Los Altos, the girls were pumped and played with a new ferocity. The Eagles were determined not to let another goal be scored against them and fought back relentlessly, managing to fight evenly until halftime.
Junior forward Ellie Burstein scored the third goal of the game for Paly, making the score 3-1. Paly’s defense went to work against Los Altos, with several amazing saves by goalie Christy Gauthier. In one save, a Los Altos forward found a hole in Paly’s defense and fired towards the net. Gauthier leaped sideways, arms outstretched, and managed to grasp the ball by the tips of her gloved fingers before landing. Gauthier then punted the ball straight into midfield to resume the game.
Flamm scored her second goal and Paly’s last goal of the game near the end of the second half. After several more shots and a few balls kicked over the fence into the parking lot, the game ended, the final score 4-1.
"We should have scored a lot more than four goals, but we have had trouble finishing lately," Flamm said. "We have been working a lot on communication, and that was our main focus for the game." The girls’ work on communication paid off with their three-goal triumph over Los Altos.
The Lady Vikes’ next game is against Saratoga at Paly, Jan. 21 at 3:30 p.m.