The Palo Alto High School boys’ lacrosse team (6-3, 3-1) will play the Sacred Heart Preparatory team (7-3, 5-0), the first-place seed in the De Anza League, at 4 p.m. today at Sacred Heart.

The Paly Vikings lost to the Gators earlier this season, and were knocked out of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League playoffs in the semi-finals by the Gators last year.

Senior midfielder Zach Rizk, however, expects Paly to play well at the upcoming game.

“Obviously, we’ve lost to Sacred Heart six times in a row now,” Rizk said. “We’d like to break that streak today. They have some great shooters, but we have a really balanced team. I think we have a better defense this year, and we’re looking to beat them this year.”

Sophomore attack Matthew Seligson echoes Rizk’s optimism.

“We expect to win,” Seligson said. “They [Scared Heart] have got two great players, but we’re deep all around.”

Currently, Sacred Heart is ranked third in SCVAL and first in the De Anza League, while Paly is is ranked sixth in SCVAL and third in the De Anza League.  Both teams are expected to qualify for the playoffs.

“We’re looking to go for number two seed at least, if not the number one seed,” Rizk said. “We’re on track for that right now with one loss.”

The Vikings will kick off against the Gators at 4 p.m. today at Sacred Heart.