Paly forward Sunny Lyu (’14) dribbles downfield in the Vikings’ 2-1 loss against the Menlo-Atherton Bears at home.

In its first match of the season, the Paly girls’ soccer team fell to Menlo-Atherton 2-1 at home.

The Vikings started off slowly as the Bears scored in the first 10 minutes of the match. Moments later following the Menlo-Atherton score, Nika Woodfill (’16) fired a rebounded ball into the back of the Bears’ net to tie the match at 1-1.  Neither team would score for the rest of the first half, heading tied into the second.

Despite dominating the second half by allowing only a handful of possessions to Menlo-Atherton, the Lady Vikes could not seemingly finish their shots.

“There’s a lot of stuff that we have to work on,” Paly forward Megan Tall (’14) said. “Definitely finishing our chances, our shots were a little off.”

With only 15 minutes left in the match, Menlo-Atherton was awarded a penalty kick for a foul within the box. Menlo-Atherton would capitalize on the opportunity as a Bear midfielder sailed the ball into the net. The Vikings were unable to pull-off the come back as the clock wound down, resulting in a 2-1 Menlo-Atherton victory.

Emotions were mixed on the Paly sidelines as the Vikings exited the playing field.

“I think we played pretty well but again we didn’t finish a lot of our shots and we let go of a lot of chances,” Woodfill said.

Looking beyond the loss, Tall anticipates her team improving their play in the upcoming season and even into Central Coast Section (CCS) championships.

“We’re planning on coming out stronger next game,” Tall said. “I think that we could really make it to CCS and prove to the other teams that we deserve to be in this league.”

Woodfill echoed Tall’s thoughts and commented on the team’s overall dynamic.

“[I] look forward to getting to know everyone more and becoming a better soccer player,” Woodfill said.

The Lady Vikes will take on San Benito High School at home this Saturday at 3 p.m.