The Palo Alto High School Boys’ Lacrosse team (13-5) is set to play in the semifinals of the Division II Central Coast Section Playoffs at 3:30 p.m. today against the Stevenson Pirates (7-9) at Stevenson High School.
The Vikings are the fourth seed and are coming off a 5-1 win over the Palma Chieftains (9-7) last Tuesday at home. On the other hand, the Pirates are the number one overall seed, which grants them the home field advantage over the Vikings in this semifinal match.
The winner of this game will go on to play the winner of the other semifinal match, between the Menlo Atherton Bears (8-4) and the Live Oak Acorns (15-3).
According to Viking senior Malcolm Phillips, strong defensive communication and face off play will be central to securing a win.
“A key part of winning this game [is] good communication on defense and a strong face off team to give our offense opportunities at early offense,” Phillips said. “The game plan is to try and take away key players on their offensive side of the field and choosing our matchups on offense.”
According to Viking junior Richie Zhang, the Vikings will need to slow down Stevenson’s offense and control possession.
“The key for us to win the game is to slow down their offense and being able to handle pressure because they [Pirates] will be pressuring us far out,” Zhang said. “The game space plan is to possess the ball for as long as we can, and take care of [it] so that we can keep the ball off of the defensive side.”
According to Viking junior Kane Do, the team’s experience in close games this season has prepared them for what they expect to be a tight matchup match.
“We are expecting a close game against Stevenson and we’ve had a lot of those over the course of the season, so we are used to the feeling and are ready to close the game out,” Do said.
If the Vikings win their match against the Pirates, this would be their third CCS championship appearance in a row. However, the Vikings have come up short each of the last three years.
According to Phillips, winning this game to move on to the championship would be a major accomplishment for the program.
“Winning this game would send our team to the CCS Division 2 championship on Saturday against MA [Menlo Atherton] or Live Oak,” Phillips said. “This would be my third year in a row making the CCS championship, but we have come up short these past few years so making it this year and finally winning would mean a lot.”
