In a convincing 2-1 victory over league rival Los Altos, Paly varsity girls’ soccer team gave every indication of having moved beyond the difficulties that had caused the team to lose three of its past four games.
In the first half, both teams’ lack of a possession game defined the style of play; turnovers were ubiquitous, and rarely did either team connect more than three or four successive passes.
For Paly, these problems were likely due to the absence of senior center-midfielders Jessie Duller and Sammi Bengston, the team’s chief playmakers. Paly head coach Ernesto Cruz said that it was his decision to keep Duller and Bengston on the bench.
The first half’s lone goal came off of Paly senior defender Elizabeth Petit’s 21st minute free-kick. Petit’s lengthy, well-placed shot caught the Los Altos goalie off guard and slipped into the upper-right corner of the goal to give Paly a 1-0 lead.
Paly held its lead through the rest of the half, and play evened out again, with no clear advantage belonging to either team.
The second half was a different story. Both Bengston and Duller started the half in their normal positions, and, as soon as the referee blew his whistle, it became clear that this was an entirely different ball game. Cruz recognized Bengston and Duller’s entrance as an important turning point.
“As soon as those two girls started doing their jobs, everything was okay,” Cruz said.
Okay indeed. In the half’s first five minutes, the Vikings had three near-goals, their passes were connecting, their players were making runs, and Los Altos seemed unable to respond.
Play continued in this fashion until the game’s 56th minute, when Los Altos junior forward Katie Crum scored from just inside the penalty box, tying the score at 1-1.
The unexpected goal put the Vikings a little off-balance, but only temporarily: within ten minutes of Crum’s goal Paly had created five scoring opportunities for itself, and Los Altos had hardly entered Paly’s defensive zone.
The Vikings continued to build their control of the game, until, in the 71st minute, Paly junior forward Kelly Jenks, assisted by Duller, scored off of a scuffle in the Los Altos penalty box, making the score 2-1.
Though Paly continued to give the Los Altos defense a good deal of trouble, Jenks’ goal ended the scoring and the Vikings came away with a hard-earned victory. According to Paly junior midfielder Erika Hoglund, the win was sorely needed.
“We had kind of a long season,” Hoglund said. “We needed a win, and we got one.”
Hoglund also said that beating Los Altos was especially satisfying.
“We are kind of longtime rivals, so it was really good [to win],” Hoglund said.
Incidentally, Paly also beat Los Altos by the same score of 2-1 earlier in the season.
According to Cruz, it was reassuring to see the team play well and win towards the end of a season where, up until this game, Paly had won only seven of seventeen games, with six losses and four ties.
“Relief. We felt relief [when Paly won],” Cruz said. “These girls have been trying so hard this season, and the luck hasn’t really been on our side.”
But even after such a tough season, Cruz is optimistic.
“I still believe in this group of girls,” Cruz said. “If we can get into CCS [the Central Coast Section playoffs], this team can make a lot of noise.”
According to Cruz, the Vikings will need to win both of their next two games, one against Cupertino on Feb. 4, and the other against Mountain View on Feb. 6, in order to have a chance to make CCS.