The Palo Alto girls’ soccer team (3-3-6, 1-2-3 league) conquered the Gilroy High School Mustangs (7-5-2, 5-0-1 league) 2-1, with a clutch goal from forward Jordan Smith (’13) in the final three minutes of the game. Smith’s goal ended a one-to-one tie that lasted throughout the first half.
Gilroy began the game posessing ball, attempting to break down Paly’s defense with offensive attacks. However, Paly’s defense quickly counteracted, creating a back-and-forth series between the two teams.
Ten minutes into the half, however, Paly took the lead when forward Katie Foug (’15) drove down the center of Gilroy’s territory and quickly shot into the goal, allowing the Lady Vikes’ to take a 1-0 lead.
Foug believes her team’s chemistry allowed for their offensive success.
“I think today was a much better overall effort by the team,” Foug said. “I think we played a lot better. The ball was on their side most of the time and it seemed like we were dominating.”
Although the Lady Vikes began with a prominent lead, the Gilroy Mustangs fought back hard with aggressive defensive play. Gilroy defender Monique Barragan (’12) quickly intercepted a pass from Paly’s forward Hannah Totte (’12) near her team’s goal.
Minutes later, Gilroy tied up the game 1-1 when forward Cynthia Sanchez (’13) scored a goal off of a corner kick with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Gilroy head coach Jose Hernandez was satisfied with his team’s offensive play.
“We were going to try some line up changes with a quality team and see how things went,” Hernandez said. “We’re trying to get our girls better.”
Although the second half began much like the first, with back-and-forth play between the two teams, Paly came out on top in the last few minutes of the game, when Smith found net after several goal attempts. Much of Paly’s success came from their offensive attacks.
“We tried some new line ups,” assistant coach Eric Seedman said. “We let a lot of the younger players play a lot more than they have and they all did very well.”
Paly will continue in league play this Wednesday at 6:00 pm against Gunn at home.