Paly’s varsity boys’ soccer team held on to a 1-0 lead against the St. Francis Lancers on Tuesday night despite a rough second half.
The Lancers came into the game sluggishly, not pushing themselves enough to score.
Paly (6-0-1) started the game with a close shot on goal which bounced off the post and went wide.
Paly quickly came back and, halfway though the first half, after the ball bounced out of bounds, junior midfielder Elliot Sanborn used a flip throw to hurl the ball towards the goal. The ball bounced off the goalie’s hands and into the net.
“It was a good throw, like 50 yards; we were lucky the [Saint Francis] keeper fumbled it,” Sanborn said.
The Lancers responded with a shot on goal which senior keeper Peter Johnson blocked.
After several more attempts into Viking territory, the Lancers took a free kick from just outside 18 yards; the ball bounced off the human wall and back into play.
After halftime, St. Francis came back with a new energy, quickly taking control of the game. With more than four accurate and powerful shots on goal attempts, St. Francis seemed to be outplaying Paly. However, Johnson’s outstanding goalkeeping prevented the Lancers from putting anything on the board.
“[Johnson] kept us alive … He’s always solid, but he had a couple of really clutch saves tonight,” Sanborn said.
Coach Donald Briggs agrees.
“Peter [Johnson] has done a great job,” Briggs said. “He was a starter as a sophomore and has never missed a game. He’s a key guy for us. They [Saint Francis] had a few great shots on goal and he [Johnson] made it [goalkeeping] look easy.”
The Vikings will continue to play in the Homestead Tournament which began on Dec. 2. Paly is 3-0 in the tournament, with wins over Menlo Atherton, Santa Cruz, and Lincoln High School.
“The tournament has a lot of 3-0 teams and a lot of 0-3 teams,” Briggs said. “We measure ourselves on how we play, not whether we win or lose. It’s a matter of coming out every day wanting to improve.”