Coming off of its first loss of the season, the Palo Alto High School girls’ lacrosse team (11-1, 7-0) crushed cross-town rival Gunn High School, 15-1, on Wednesday at Paly, solidifying its position atop the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League standings.
The Vikings consistently dominated the draws and stayed on the attack for much of the game due to the midfielders’ excellent defense.
“They moved the ball very well and their transition defense was very good,” head coach Jen Gray said. “Gunn didn’t have the opportunity to get on attack very often because our attackers and our midfielders were doing a very good job in the middle of the field defending. I think that made a huge difference in the score. It could have very easily been a much closer game.”
Paly scored 10 times in the first half while preventing Gunn from scoring. Throughout the game, the ball consistently stayed on Gunn’s half of the field, allowing the Vikings to take numerous shots.
Senior attackers Sam Herzog, Brianna Boyd and Mari Wilson and freshman attackers Charlotte Biffar and Nina Kelty each scored goals, while sophomore midfielder Kimmie Flather scored two and senior attacker Lauren Mah scored three to put the Vikings ahead, 10-0.
At the half, Gray decided to switch up the defense and the attackers in order to allow the players time at different positions.
“It’s always a good idea to be able to play anywhere on the field and sometimes it’s a good way to learn more about the people you’re playing against if you play their positions for a little while,” Gray said. “When we have the luxury of being able to do that, it’s just a good time to work on new things and learn a new part of the game.”
Despite the shifted position, the Vikings still scored five times in the second half. To start off the half, senior midfielder Emily Fowler jumped up and launched a pass from senior attacker Julie Dahm into Gunn’s goal. Biffar scored again five minutes later to bring the score to 12-0.
The team upped the excitement when junior attacker Manuela Richter, who usually plays defense, scored her first goal of the season. Junior goalie Lara Cutkosky, who played attacker during the game, scored minutes later, and the Paly crowd erupted.
Richter said she enjoyed the chance to play a different position.
“I love seeing the game from a different perspective,” Richter said about playing attack. “The fundamentals and basics are still the same. In practice you pick up what the others do.”
Senior defender Claire Cooper, also playing attack, scored her first goal of the season after a close shot by Gunn. Gunn then won the ensuing draw and scored its first goal of the night, bringing the final score to 15-1, Paly.
Despite the lopsided score, senior midfielder Maya Fielder said Paly was able to maintain its intensity throughout the game.
“I think we did a really good job of keeping up our intensity the entire game,” Fielder said. “Usually when you’re beating a team by a lot, it’s a struggle to keep up the level of play because you want to relax, but I think we did a really good job of never stopping fighting the entire game.”
The Vikings will play their next games starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, in the Western States Tournament at Treasure Island.