The weather forecast for Wednesday was clear and sunny skies. But as shots rained down onto Saratoga’s unfortunate keeper like hail from above, all that the Falcons could do was wait out the storm that ended in a 11-2 blowout.

Junior midfielder Teresa Noyola had her best game of the season, scoring 4 times and adding 5 assists in the Paly’s win over the visiting Saratoga. Noyola was directly involved in 9 of the Lady Vikes’ 11 goals. Freshman striker Kelly Jenks contributed a hat trick to the win.

Currently third place in their division, Palo Alto (10-3-3, 5-2-1 league) handled the last-place Saratoga Falcons (1-13-0, 0-9-0 league) 6-1 in their previous meeting.

Paly was first out of the box, scoring in the first 30 seconds of play. Teresa Noyola stole the ball and drove down the field. The junior fed the ball to senior team captain Sarah Flamm, who sidestepped the Falcon keeper to put Paly on the board.

After controlling the next few minutes, the Lady Vikes struck again. The solid Paly midfield worked the ball downfield and into Falcon territory. After some commotion in the box, Noyola scored her first goal on a feed from Jenks, making it 2-0.

In the sixth minute, Noyola was involved in yet another attack, setting up freshman striker Maeve Stewart for the score.

Though possession time was almost even between the two teams, the Vikings obviously dominated the offensive play, out-shooting the Falcons 17-8.

Over the next few minutes, the Paly offense really got its engine going. It seemed as though every Viking drive ended in a score.

After some commotion in the box, Jenks put in Paly’s 4th goal. Stewart followed suit soon after, scoring on a cross from sophomore midfielder Sammi Bengston. Noyola struck for the second time, as did Jenks, and Saratoga slouched off the field in a 7-0 deficit at halftime.

Palo Alto senior keeper Christy Gauthier held the Falcons to a scoreless first half; making three saves, and did not return for the second half. Sophomore keeper Sarah Nordman gave Gauthier a rest, replacing her for the remaining 40 minutes of play.

The Vikings already had a lead that would be untouchable in the second half, but they would extend it even more.

In the 48th minute, Noyola and Jenks hooked up on a corner kick, giving Jenks a hat-trick for the game. To add insult to injury, Noyola scored again unassisted, giving herself a hat-trick as well.

The Saratoga team looked more disheartened than ever, as they watched the rout turn into a massacre at 9-0.

For the next few minutes, it appeared as if the Paly offense had begun to take mercy on the Falcons, playing keep-away instead of creating offensive drives. But with a seeming disconnect from the rest of the team, Noyola scored her fourth goal on the game unassisted, sealing the 10-0 lead.

The starters began to come off the field for Paly, and the second and third string players took over the action. Saratoga managed to savor a little dignity, scoring twice and bringing the total to 10-2.

But just in case the Falcons were thinking of making a late-game, nine-goal comeback in the last ten minutes of play, Paly’s defensive back Elizabeth Petit closed the window with yet another goal for the Vikings, and the final whistle blew at 11-2 in favor of Palo Alto.

Paly’s sophomore midfielder Sydney Lundgren did not play due to a strained hip flexor, and defensive mid Jackie McElaney is out for the season as the result of a torn knee ligament.

The Vikings are away at Homestead on Wednesday and return to Mayfield on Friday, Feb 2 at 3:30 p.m. to face the Los Gatos Wildcats.