In the Vikings’ final game of the season, the Palo Alto High School varsity boys’ lacrosse team (8-2) fell to the Menlo Atherton High School Bears (10-0), 13-5, Thursday night at Menlo Atherton High School.
This marks the Vikings’ second loss to the Bears this season. The Vikings will advance to Division 2 of the Central Coast Section playoffs.
According to Viking head coach Ed Hattler, the Vikings have improved greatly since the beginning of the season.
“We made mistakes on both sides of the ball, and we’ve been talking about all those little things the whole season,” Hattler said. “We need to correct them. Keep getting better, keep working at that, and know it doesn’t come with a snap of the fingers. It comes gradually, and the team is making big strides.”
The Bears came out strong, scoring three goals within the first two minutes of the game. They got into a rhythm of winning the draw, following that up with an effective offensive play. However, the Vikings capitalized on steals, leading to a score of 5-3 by the end of the first quarter.
During the second quarter, the Bears’ defense managed to hold the Vikings to just one point, scoring two goals themselves.
Bears head coach Steven Kryger said the Bears’ defense wasn’t solid in the first half.
“In the first half, we were a little loose on the defensive side,” Kryger said. “We didn’t do well in transition and they [the Vikings] capitalized on every one of those. That’s what teams that always play hard, that are well coached, that are athletic will do.”
Going into the second half, Bears senior midfielder Peter Koren went on a roll, scoring three goals in the third quarter alone, while the Vikings struggled to create offensive opportunities.
In the final quarter, the pace slowed in large part because the Bears had all but won the game, and it was mainly a defensive game at that point. Additionally, the Bears increased their lead with another goal by Koren and another goal by senior attack, Ryder Genauer, ending the game with a victory by the Bears.
According to Koren, he enjoyed playing a tough match against the Vikings.
“I think they [the Vikings] played well,” Koren said. “They hustled a lot and forced a lot of turnovers, and it’s our closest league game, so that’s just really fun.”
Hattler said despite their loss, the Vikings played well and gave it their all.
“Our guys played the best game they played all season,” Hattler said. “They [the Vikings] were giving a very strong effort, hustling all over the field, going for ground balls, moving the ball up the field on clears and on offense.”
This game concludes the Vikings’ regular season and they will face the Carmel Padres (9-0) at 11 a.m. on Saturday at home.
