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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

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Matadors defeat Viking girls' soccer in CCS championships

Paly’s girls’ soccer team’s Central Coast Section championship hopes were dashed by the No. 1-seeded Monta Vista Matadors during Saturday morning’s hard-fought, 2-1, loss at Valley Christian High School in San Jose.

There was a genuine feeling of excitement surrounding the championship match, as no Paly girls’ team had played in the CCS finals in 20 years, none had won in 29, and no Monta Vista team had won in 30. No matter what happened, the game was going to make history.

The first half began as Monta Vista came out aggressively and immediately gained control of the game. Only 12 minutes into the half, the Matadors scored on freshman Gabby Ley’s header off of defender Shandon Rovetta’s free kick.

Monta Vista head coach Alan Kute said that the first half went exactly as he had hoped it would.

“That was the plan, to really be aggressive [right away],” Kute said.

Ley’s goal was the only score in the first half, but Monta Vista continued to control the game, as Paly struggled to find its comfort zone.

According to Paly head coach Ernesto Cruz, the first-half Vikings did not play the way the team had in past games.

“It seemed like we were nervous at first,” Cruz said. “We were not playing our game.”

In the second half, however, Paly worked out the kinks in its playing style and started fighting back. In fact, Paly’s second-half shots on goal outnumbered those of Monta Vista, 6-5.

Cruz noted the shift in playing style.

“[In the second half,] we were pressing them [Monta Vista],” Cruz said. “We were dominating.”

Kute also acknowledged the Vikings’ increased intensity.

“They [the Vikings] came out strong in the second half, and we had to match them,” Kute said.

Despite Paly’s rapid improvement, the Matadors managed another goal early in the half off of a throw-in that bounced around in Paly’s 6-yard box and was finally put in the back of the net almost point-blank by a Monta Vista player.

According to Monta Vista junior varsity coach Jonathan van den Berg, Paly intensified play even more after the goal.

“Going up 2-0 was both a blessing and a curse,” van den Berg said. “Paly really began to press, sending extra players forward, generating some additional free kicks and three to four more corner kicks, eventually getting a goal back.”

The goal of which van den Berg spoke was scored only slightly more than ten minutes after Monta Vista’s second goal. The score came on a laser of a shot by Paly junior forward Kelly Jenks after she controlled a long pass from senior midfielder Sammi Bengston and flicked it over her defender.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, Jenks’ goal was all that the Vikings would get, despite taking another four shots on goal before the final whistle. The game ended, 2-1, with Monta Vista the victor.

Cruz recognizes his players for their tenacity in the Monta Vista game and all throughout their miraculous run to the CCS championships, during which the Vikings won three crucial games at the end of the regular season and then pulled out two massive upsets to reach the final.

“The girls were very disappointed [with the final result],” Cruz said. “But they gave it all they had, and it was a good run.

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