Paly’s varsity boys’ soccer team returned from a dreary first half to dominate the Fremont Firebirds, 5-0, on Wednesday afternoon in its final home game of the season.
Ranked No. 1 overall in Central Coast Section by the San Jose Mercury News, the Vikings have outscored their opponents with by a combined 41 goals for the season. Additionally, Palo Alto’s defensive players have only allowed eight goals all year.
“We [Paly] knew that if we just kept our composure, we’d handle this team [Fremont] easily,” senior co-captain Adam Zernik said.
The Vikings (18-1-2) played Fremont earlier this year on Jan. 12, winning 4-0.
Although confident in its position against Fremont, Paly failed to start strong in the first half. The Vikings managed to fire 12 shots on goal versus Fremont’s one, but were only able to score once. Many of Paly’s offensive opportunities were the direct result of junior midfielder Elliot Sanborn’s powerful flip throw-ins.
“Coach [Donald Briggs] says to just keep the ball low; sometimes my teammates capitalize, sometimes they don’t,” Sanborn said. “I think we should have scored more, but thankfully our defense is really strong and can get us through those rough patches in the game.”
Despite the numerous missed opportunities that plagued the first half, the Vikings maintained their calm and continued to control the ball for almost all 45 minutes. Paly’s lone first-half goal came late in the half when senior forward Greg Stewart tapped in the ball after several crisp passes, and an assist from junior midfielder John Richardson. Fremont was only able to cross the Viking halfway line four times as its forwards were continuously cut down early by Paly’s defensive line.
“They [Fremont] were playing an offside trap, which our offense was not accustomed to,” Stewart said. “Because of this, it was not until the second half that we started pouring things on after becoming used to their defensive scheme. Also we really did not capitalize early, which kept Fremont in the ball game until early in the second half. Thankfully my teammates stepped up and we came away with the win.”
Paly severely struggled with the Fremont offside trap and received a total of ten offside calls just in the first half. The offside trap is not often used in high school because of its risky nature. If the trap fails, the other team has a chance at a breakaway and a shot on goal.
“Fremont is only one of a few teams in the entire league that utilizes the offside trap,” Briggs said. “It’s important that the forwards are constantly looking at the other defenders so they don’t get caught.”
The Vikings returned in the second half looking to make more of the fast break chances that the Firebirds were giving away. The Vikings compiled nine more shots on goal and took advantage of their increased opportunities. Richardson scored just minutes into the second half off a through-ball. He was soon followed by junior forward John Anderton who scored off a volley after a Paly penalty kick was deflected in the box. About halfway through the second half, it was clear that the Firebirds were falling too far behind in the scoreboard to make a comeback, trailing 2-0.
“In the second half our goal was to not let them [Fremont] keep the ball on our side of the field for more than two minutes,” senior midfielder Michael Hanabusa said. “I think we accomplished that in addition to setting up our forwards with through balls that they could score on.”
Paly was also able to cope with the offside trap more effectively, falling into it only five times in the entire second half. With more chances on-goal, the Vikings finished the game with two more scores from senior sweeper John Christopherson and freshman midfielder Federico Clerici.
“I just got the ball and broke a couple tackles,” Christopherson said. “The [Fremont] goalie was out of position, so I just put it hard on the ground. It was nice getting my first goal of the season in my last home game as a high school player.”
Despite the convincing win, Paly was not at full strength. Junior starter Jenner Fox was benched after breaking his foot in a match in early December, and he will remain on the sideline for the rest of the season. Also, junior forward Spencer Sims was out after suffering a concussion during the team’s game against Santa Clara several weeks ago. Sims is expected to return to the field on Monday in time for the post-season.
“It’s unfortunate that we can’t have Jenner on the team for the rest of the season,” Briggs said. “He’s a crucial part in the starting line-up. Sims was more of a pressing loss today though because we could have utilized his speed against the Fremont offside trap.”
With just one more regular season game scheduled, the Vikings are gearing up for post-season play. Due to the various sizes of schools, the CCS tournament will be divided into two divisions. According to Briggs, Division I has some of the top teams in the state, while Division II has a deeper spread of talent. Regardless of post-season positioning, however, the boys have posted an astonishing 18-1-2 record, having lost only to Gilroy. The record is the most formidable in Paly soccer history.
“We’ve played pretty well this season, so we should receive a top spot in CCS,” Briggs said. “We will probably play in Division II, which isn’t as good at the top, but has a lot more depth throughout. There are tons of teams that could conceivably sneak up on you and steal a win.”
The boys’ final game of the regular season will be at 3:30 p.m. at Milpitas on Friday.