Boys’ soccer defeated Santa Clara High School 4-1 on Friday in a very exciting match.

Paly started off very strong in the first half taking control over the game with solid play in the midfield. Xander Sherer (‘18) and Leyton Ho (‘19) provided the first two goals for Paly in the first thirty minutes of the half thanks to strong build up play and solid defending by the back line.

The Vikings continued to put pressure on Santa Clara by keeping good possession and working hard to win the ball back when they lost it. Paly’s next chance came on a corner when Matt Knowles (‘18) had a powerful header that ended up going straight to the goalie but showed promise for the rest of the half.

The Vikings added another goal at the end of the first half when defender Nathan Seto (‘19) struck a volley that looped over the keeper’s head into the back of the net. Paly had a commanding 3-0 lead that they held onto for the rest of the first half.

The start of the second half was sloppy with lots of fouls being called and long balls being played by both teams. Paly’s next opportunity came when Knowles cleared the ball up to winger Paul Thie (‘19) who beat two defenders as he raced down the sideline to whip a cross in. The cross just missed the striker in the box but helped provide the Vikings with more confidence.

Santa Clara began to fight back and earned themselves a corner at the midpoint of the second half. The ball was sent in and Paly could not clear which led to a tap in goal by the Santa Clara striker. However, the Vikings quickly rebounded and took control over the game.

After keeping possession for a long time Paly started to push forward in search of their fourth goal. Sherer played a perfectly weighted ball down the line to Thie who whipped in the cross with his left foot. Attacker Alex Antunez (‘18) chested the ball down and rocketed a half volley into the top right of the goal with his left foot. Paly never wavered after that and controlled the game until the final whistle.

“We controlled most of the game, our great teamwork lead to four goals,” Antunez said.

“If we make it to the playoffs, it would be cool if we get matched up to play Menlo-Atherton, as many of the players on their team are on my club team,” defender Jonathan Maydan (‘19) said when asked about what he was looking forward to in the rest of the season.

The Vikings next game is against Homestead on Wednesday at 3:30.