Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine
Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine
Palo Alto High School's sports news magazine

Viking Magazine

Boys’ soccer falls to Saratoga 2-0

Michelle Friedlander, Staff Writer
February 4, 2012
Boys’ soccer (0-9-2, 0-3-0) lost to Saratoga High School (9-3-1, 5-1-1) with a score of 2-0. Both teams kept their defenses tight and intact, not allowing many shots. Paly goalie Tony Maharaj (‘14) had a lot of saves, but in the end, he allowed two balls past him. The first half was even in terms of dominance, as neither team had complete control over the game. Key defender Alex Chin (‘13) held up the team for the Vikings while the Saratoga defense remained steady as well. The half ended with a score of 0-0.
 
“We got kind of unlucky because we had a lot of chances and we played pretty well in the first half,” Paly’s Paul Mewes (‘15) said. “But they had chances [too] and they scored them.”

In the second half, both teams came out hungry for goals. Though the defense for both Paly and Saratoga stayed strong, both the Vikings and the Falcons were shooting a lot more. As a result, this payed off for the Falcons when one of their midfielders scored off of a free kick. In an attempt to get the ball away from a Saratoga, Paly midfielder Gen Murphy (‘13) received a yellow card.

On a breakaway, a Saratoga midfielder attempted at a shot, but the ball rolled straight across the goal. With Maharaj on the ground, another Falcon player came in for an easy shot making the score 2-0 for Saratoga. Paly remained in the game and attempted to get some goals in, however, they fell short, losing the game 2-0.

“We played hard in the first half,” Paly’s Christian Huard (‘13) said. “In the second half they got a goal off of a cheap free kick and that kind of demoralized our team.”

The team agrees with Mewes that the opportunities were there, and hopes to finish those chances in the future.

The Vikings will play at Los Altos on Friday Feb. 10 at 3:30 p.m.

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About the Contributor
Michelle Friedlander
Michelle Friedlander, Design Editor
Michelle is a senior at Palo Alto High School. She joined The Viking staff at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, and is looking forward to covering Paly sports. She plays soccer both in and out of school year-round. She loves watching the San Francisco Giants play along with the San Jose Sharks and Oregon Ducks.