In the first quarter, Viking junior Richie Zhang spun past a Spartan defender in front of the opposing goal to score a low shot underneath the goalie’s stick. This play gave the Palo Alto High School Boys’ Lacrosse team (8-3) an early lead in their 11-3 league victory over the Mountain View High School Spartans (3-7-1) Thursday night at Mountain View High School.
According to Zhang, the Vikings came into the game well prepared for such intricate plays.
“We prepared by running an open set,” Zhang said. “It would be me dodging and guys getting open, so we did that in practice yesterday, and it worked really well today.”
The Vikings’ offense began with a hot start, jumping out with a 3-0 lead. This included a goal from Zhang, in which he faked out the Spartan defender with a shaky hesitation move, finishing the goal inside. The Spartans got on the board with seconds left in the quarter with a lengthy outside shot from Spartan sophomore William Lint.
The Spartans closed the gap to 3-2 in the second quarter, when senior Samuel Benson scored off a spin-move shot, narrowly finding open space in the goal. However, the Vikings retook the momentum, with back-to-back goals from junior Kane Do, who went on to complete his second hat trick in a row.
According to Zhang, coming in with the right mentality was key.
“We were really sloppy in that game [previous game against Trojans, 5-4], and we went into this game with a much better mindset,” Zhang said. “That’s what helped us really separate in the first half.”
After a somewhat competitive first half, the Vikings dominated the Spartans in the second half, going on a 6-0 scoring run, before the Spartans finally scored a second half goal. The Vikings went on to win the game, 11-3, led by dominant offensive performances from senior Shalin Dwivedi, Zhang and Do.
According to Spartan junior Luka Doukov, the Spartans played harder because it was senior night.
“For all of our players, we wanted to live up to some higher expectations for senior night, but sadly we couldn’t see that through,” Doukov said.
Viking head coach Ed Hattler said the Vikings played well on offense.
“Our offense is really putting it together,” Hattler said. “Richie (Zhang) ran the offense beautifully. He had six assists. Shalin had six goals. Kane got three goals early. Our attack just really dominated them.”
According to Viking senior Malcolm Phillips, he hopes the Vikings carry their winning momentum into the playoffs.
“This is our sixth win in a row, so it really just shows us ramping up for playoffs,” Phillips said. “We’re looking to make a run. The past two years we’ve come up short in the CCS playoffs.”
The Vikings will play non-conference game against the Los Gatos Wildcats (10-6) Tuesday night at Los Gatos High School.
