The Palo Alto High School girls’ soccer team remains tied for first place in the SCAVAL De Anza Division after cruising to a 3-0 shutout win against the Gunn Titans at the Mayfield Soccer Complex on Friday.
“It was a good win after the tie with Mountain View,” said senior co-captain Teresa Noyola, who fired 13 shots during the match. “The team has more intensity now.”
The Vikings (11-1-1 overall, 3-1-1 league) started the game with “full force,” the words of head coach Ernesto Cruz, who said the team planned to “attack, attack, and attack” with an offense-oriented, 4-3-3 formation.
“We are figuring out what’s best for the team, for playing against strong teams like Los Altos,” Cruz said.
The Vikings seemed uncomfortable in the new formation, making several passing errors in the first half of the match. Noyola, however, used her exceptional dribbling skills to create numerous chances for the team, running past several Gunn defenders at a time.
After missing twice with shots over the post in the first 10 minutes of the game, Noyola scored the first goal for Paly in the 20th minute, firing a shot from outside the 18-yard box after dribbling through four Titan defenders. The ball went in after bouncing on the ground in front of the goalie.
Ten minutes later,Noyola attempted the same shot, but hit the inner post with her shot. She tried yet again only three minutes later, but that shot deflected off of a Gunn defender.
The Titans (3-9-1, 0-4-0) tried to make some adjustments, substituting in three new players just before the first half ended. But Paly’s ball possession was continually increasing and the Viking offenders dominated the field.
For the second half, the Vikings adjusted their own strategy and decided to play “more conservatively” in order to secure the one goal lead, according to Cruz. Reverting to the usual, 4-4-2 formation, Cruz ordered the forwards to put continual pressure with many shots. Additionally, Cruz told the team to avoid passing to empty space and to get the ball to co-captains Noyola and senior Leah Gaeta at center-mid and forward, respectively.
Back in their favorite formation and strategy, the Vikings started to roll. The team had several effective set-plays during the second half, and Noyola continued to put pressure on the Gunn defense with nine shots. In the 57th minute, junior Sydney Lundgren passed the ball tothe center of the 18 yard box, and after some jostling between the Titan defenders and Viking offenders, the ball rolled into the goal after Noyola’s final touch.
Only six minutes later, sophomore striker Kelly Jenks solidified the Viking victory by adding yet another goal off an assist from junior Jessie Duller, improving the score to 3-0. Another Noyola zinger hit the net, but there was an offside penalty and the score remained 3-0 in favor of Paly.
“We did a good job in the second half,” Cruz said. “We had more accurate passes, and we were more comfortable.”
The victory was especially meaningful to the team according to junior co-captain Caitlin Watson, because Gunn had beaten Mountain View a team Paly recently tied, with a score of 4-4, on Jan. 7.
“We were stressed last time, but we proved that we are better [than both teams],” Watson said.
The Vikings are “pumped up” for the rest of the season, according to Noyola and Cruz.
“The girls know they have potential to go through CCS,” Noyola said.
Cruz added: “The girls are working hard at 100 percent.”
Paly visited Monta Vista on Monday and lost with a score of 0-2, and will face Los Altos on Friday at Mayfield. These two teams are currently third and tied for first in the league, respectively. The Homestead match, which was to be held on Wednesday, is now rescheduled to Feb. 4 due to final exams.
“People should come out for the Los Altos match,” Noyola said. “That’s going to be a big one.”