Palo Alto’s momentum from its Monday rout over San Jose Latino College Prep carried through to its second round tournament soccer game, where the Lady Vikes defeated the Los Altos Eagles on Tuesday, 2-1.
The first half of the game opened with a bang. An early goal by junior striker Erika Hoglund gave the Lady Vikes a 1-0 lead. However, after that initial goal, the game became lower key. The action focused around the midfield line, and occasional long balls were played to each team’s respective strikers. At the end of the first half the score remained 1-0.
The second half of the game had a drastically different tone than the first half. The Viking offense pressured the ball, constantly keeping the Eagles on defense, and holding them behind the midfield line for most of the half.
“I think we [the offense] did well,” Hoglund said, “We started to connect together.”
Hoglund herself had another goal during the half. Taking a corner-kick, she looped the ball around the goalie, bounced it off the far goal-post, and into the back of the net.
“It [Hoglund’s goal] was pretty cool,” junior striker Maeve Stewart said, “because you don’t normally score directly off a corner-kick like that.”
Corner-kicks proved to be the Vikings’ only weakness as well. The solid Viking defense stopped most of Los Altos’ fast-break and shot attempts. However, Los Altos managed to score off of a header after a corner-kick of their own.
“I think they [the defense] did really well,” sophomore midfielder Rebecca Ruff said. “The last [Los Altos] goal wasn’t really a mistake on their [the Vikings’ defense] part.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Kershner also had a notable save. In a one-on-one with an opposing striker, she managed a mid-air diving save that preserved the Vikings’ lead.
“That [Kershner’s save] was amazing,” Ruff said, “but you can’t be surprised about saves like that when Alex is your keeper.”
Head coach Ernesto Cruz is pleased with his team’s performance.
“I think the girls we pulled up from JV this year are learning how we play,” Cruz said, “and I’m happy with the team’s performance.”
The Vikings are also pleased with their performance during the game.
“I think this was a good way to start off the season,” Hoglund said, “to start it off with wins.”
The Vikings will play the Woodside Priory Panthers at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Paly. With two victories under their belt, the Vikings have a good chance of competing in the finals on Friday.