The Paly boys’ varsity soccer team (0-1-1), dropped a 1-3 decision to Gilroy High School, in a Homestead Cup tournament game on Saturday night, Dec. 12, at Oak Grove High School, relegating the Vikings to a third or fourth place finish.
Junior Zac Hummel scored Palo Alto’s only goal of the game just before halftime. Hummel received a pass cut through the Gilroy defense before crashing into the goalie to score. His goal is just the second for the Vikings this season.
Gilroy scored its other two goals in the first half. The first 20 minutes into the game, Victor Garcia received a pass and launched a powerful kick with Paly defenders closing in on him. Gilroy’s aggressive offense broke through the Viking defense 10 minutes later when Jhon Diaz scored a goal after a corner kick.
Gilroy also scored 10 minutes after halftime when Fores Alyade scored off of a corner kick that was unsuccessfully cleared by Paly defenders, and then powerfully kicked into the goal. Gilroy stretched the Palo Alto defense numerous times during the game while the Vikings struggled offensively.
“They were a lot more aggressive than us,” junior Mark Raftrey said. “We didn’t take advantage [of our opportunities].”
Goalkeepers senior Scott Alexander and junior Austin Shiau, who substituted at halftime, faced at least 10 possible goal situations, most of which were outside shots. Alexander faced four attempts on goal in the first ten minutes alone.
“I thought we had some unfortunate goals,” junior defender Nittai Malchin said. “People weren’t in position, and they took advantage of that. That was the difference.”
Paly struggled to make up the two-goal deficit after Gilroy leaped out to an early lead in the first half.
“I think we played better in the second half than the first half,” Head Coach Don Briggs said. “First half–we had some trouble with the markings.”
The Vikings had several missed opportunities for goals, the first of which occurred 10 minutes before halftime. Gilroy’s goalie lost control of the ball, leaving the goal empty; before Paly could score, a Gilroy defender quickly cleared the ball.
In the second half, senior forward Spencer Sims received a pass in front of Gilroy’s goal, but kicked it slightly off-center, missing a crucial chance to score a goal. In the dying minutes of the game Paly took a penalty kick but the ball bounced off of the crossbar, to the frustration of many Paly players.
Paly tied its first tournament game against Santa Clara last Saturday, 1-1. their next game will be a home game at 3:30 p.m on Tuesday, Dec. 15, against Menlo-Atherton.