Editor’s Note: Sports Recap is The Paly Voice’s weekly recap of all-things-sports at Paly. Sports Recap may pull information from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—The Paly Voice, The Campanile and The Viking Magazine.
Boys’ Basketball
Record for the Week: (0-1)
Overall Record: (23-2); League: (12-0)
CCS: 58-47 (L) vs. Archbishop Riordan
The Palo Alto High School boys’ basketball team was bounced in the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs after falling 58-47 to the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders at Piedmont Hills High School. The Vikings lost junior center Keller Chryst to an ankle injury in the first half as they quickly fell behind. The Vikings made a furious rally in the second half as they cut the Crusaders’ lead down to three, but they were unable to complete the comeback. Despite Paly’s loss to Archbishop Riordan, the Vikings’ season continues. New rule changes had them playing for the first time in the CCS Open Division. Although the Vikings lost in the quarterfinals, their season will continue in the Division 1 Northern California playoffs. The end of their 21-game win streak is largely irrelevant as their postseason continues on Tuesday against Soquel High School. Click here for the full story. Many thanks to Becca Raffel for her reporting.
Boys’ Soccer
Record for the Week: (1-1)
Overall Record: (14-6-2); League: (8-3-1)
2-2 (W 4-3 on penalty kicks) vs. Evergreen Valley, 4-1 (L) vs. Alisal
The boys’ soccer team returned to the CCS playoffs after last year’s disappointing winless season. The Vikings narrowly won their first game on the road against the Evergreen Valley Cougars. Two fastbreak goals by senior forward Chris Meredith helped the Vikings to a 2-2 deadlock at the end of regulation. After two scoreless overtime periods, the game came down to penalty kicks. Junior goalie Tony Maharaj saved two penalty kicks and freshman forward Dami Bolarinwa scored the gamewinner to give the Vikings the victory. However, the Vikings’ season came to an end later in the week when they fell, 4-1, to the top-seeded Alisal Trojans. The Trojans’ fast-paced offense constantly pressured the Vikings as they raced out to a 4-0 halftime lead and Paly was never able to recover. Although the Vikings lost, the team rebounded well from a difficult winless season last year and was promoted back to the De Anza League.
Girls’ Soccer
Record for the Week: (1-0)
Overall Record: (14-4-2); League: (11-0-1)
5-0 (W) vs. San Benito
What was perhaps the most shocking story of the week, the girls’ varsity soccer team won their first CCS match but found out they were disqualified the next day. The Vikings hammered the San Benito Haybalers 5-0 on Wednesday night. Junior midfielder Sunny Lyu opened the scoring in the first half and the Vikings added four more goals in the second half. However the Vikings were disappointed to find that they were disqualified from CCS competition because freshman defender Jacey Pederson was ineligible for participating in a national team practice. Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Vikings still had an enormously successful season as they won the El Camino League title and earned a promotion back to the De Anza League. Click here for the full story. Many thanks to Addie Mcnamara and Jared Schwartz for reporting.
Baseball
Record for the Week: (0-2)
Overall Record: (0-2); League: (0-0)
9-3 (L) vs. St. Ignatius, 3-1 (L) vs. St. Francis
The Palo Alto High School baseball team lost two games this week in non-league matchups against Western Catholic Athletic League opponents. The Vikings lost their season opener, 9-3, to the St. Ignatius Wildcats, the reigning CCS Division II champions. The Vikings gave up two runs in the first inning and were never able to rally back as the Wildcats pulled away in the sixth inning. Paly lost their next game to the St. Francis Lancers, 3-1. Impressive pitching and fielding by the Lancers held the Vikings to only three hits and didn’t allow a run until the seventh inning. The Vikings hope to bounce back and get their first victory when they host the Serra Padres on Tuesday. Click here for the full story. Many thanks to Edward Mei for reporting.