The Lady Vikes beat the Monta Vista Matadors for the second time this season with a final score of 4-0. When the two teams faced off earlier in January, Paly won with a score of 2-1.
“The last time we played these girls [Monta Vista], they scored the one goal they’ve scored all year against us,” Devlin said. “It was a much better game for our girls, we just didn’t finish well.”
Co-captain Sunny Lyu (‘14) agreed with Devlin about the team’s improvement from the last time it played Monta Vista.
“I think we definitely came out with more intensity and sharpness, so our game was quicker and we played more skillfully,” Lyu said.
Paly started strong by maintaining possession and continually taking shots on goal. With two corners by Paly within a few minutes, the attempts kept coming. However, the Matadors’ goalie was not letting anything by her. The Lady Vikes were finally successful when Sunny Lyu (‘14) sent a shot from the goal box into the corner of the goal with a little over three minutes left in the half. Paly kept the ball on the Matadors’ side and with less than a minute left, Alison Lu (‘16) dribbled inside the box, took a touch past the goalie and passed it into the goal. The Vikings led the scoreboard 2-0 at half.
Shortly after the beginning of the second half, Lyu scored another goal for Paly. Leading the game 3-0, the Vikings maintained control of the game. Monta Vista attempted to strike back with a penalty kick but sent the ball just over the goal post. With 15 minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock, Aoi Sugihara (‘15) made a low shot from near the box and brought the score up to 4-0. The rest of the game was scoreless.
With another win on its record, Paly is looking to continue to do well in the upcoming games.
“My hopes for the girls would be to win out,” Devlin said. “If they win the next four, they have a good chance of being the champions of the league. It’s some good competition coming up.”
In order to win the next few games a major focus for the team will be to work on scoring more.
“We have to work on finishing, we have a lot of chances but we don’t put them in the net,” Lyu said.
The Lady Vikes will play again at Saratoga High School next Wednesday.
