Prep roundup: Higa’s goal lifts Spartans past Vikings [Palo Alto Daily News, Calif.]

Jan. 07--Disappointed with their performance in the first half, Mountain View girls soccer coach Ivan Bandov made his feelings known at intermission. The Spartans certainly listened, scoring 18 seconds into the second half during Friday's 2-1 triumph at Palo Alto.

"I didn't even see the goal," Paly coach Kurt Devlin said. "I looked up and the kid was shooting the ball into the net. I couldn't tell you what happened."

The quick score by Morgan Matthews off an Emily Andrew assist wasn't the game-winner, though. That's because Paly (2-2-4, 0-1-1 Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza) tied the game with 12 minutes left when Emily Brown slotted a one-timer off a cross into the near post.

"It's always disappointing to be tied in a game that late, but we have a very resilient team," Bandov said. "Even when we get down, there is no giving up with this team and that's what makes them special."

The Spartans (7-1-1, 2-0 De Anza) reclaimed the lead in the 71st minute after an aggressive run resulted in a shot that Paly goalkeeper Erin Chang stopped with her foot. But ready to pounce on the loose ball was Mountain View's Erica Higa.

The Vikings had a shot to tie the game in stoppage time when a foul just outside of a box led to a free kick, but Mountain View keeper Sarah Bennett stopped a shot by Mayssen Labidi, leaving Paly with two wins in eight games.

"That has to change pretty soon so we can stay in the top," Devlin said. "We need wins.

We can't fall too far back."

--Saratoga 3, Gunn 2: The Titans (3-5, 0-1) fell in their De Anza opener despite leading 1-0 after a goal from Liza Marinaro and again 2-1 off a penalty kick by Sarah Robinson.

"And then all hell broke loose," Gunn coach Damien Cohen said.

BOYS SOCCER

Eagles find home in Cupertino

Los Altos won the Homestead Christmas Cup for the first time on Dec. 20, and a return to the same field resulted in a 1-0 victory over Homestead.

"It was a really tough game," Los Altos coach Vava Marques said.

The Eagles (6-1-1, 2-0 De Anza), who lost 12 seniors, are not the most physical team, but the scrappy play of Andy Sartor resulted in the only goal midway through the second half.

"It was a cross and there was a scramble in the box," Marques said. "He took a shot with the side volley and it ended up in the upper corner to the right side of the keeper. It was a great goal."

--Mountain View 3, Palo Alto 0: The Vikings (0-8-2, 0-2 De Anza) remained winless as Mountain View took control with its second goal minutes into the second half.

"The game kind of changed after that," Mountain View coach Jim McGuirk said.

The Spartans (6-3-1, 2-0) took a 1-0 lead into intermission off a goal by Minh Wilson. The insurance goal came courtesy of Brad Bumgarner and Chauncey Neyman capped the scoring with his third goal in two league games.

"I think we have a chance to compete for a league title," McGuirk said. "It's pretty wide open, actually."

--Gunn defeated Saratoga by foreit.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Knights fall in OT thriller

After an errant inbound pass allowed San Mateo to take the lead with fewer than 20 seconds left in overtime, Menlo School-Atherton turned to its star, 6-foot-4 center Drew Edelman. But her running left-handed hook shot barely missed the mark in a 48-47 loss.

"We came up a little bit short," Menlo coach John Paye said.

Edelman led the Knights (8-4) with another impressive double-double -- 22 points, 22 rebounds. Point guard Lauren Lete added 17 points and three assists for Menlo, which led 25-16 at the half.

--Menlo-Atherton 58, Carlmont 42: The Bears (6-8) jumped all over the Scots (6-7) with a 19-2 first quarter and nursed the early lead until the end. Tennyson Jellins led M-A with 14 points, but the high scorer was Carlmont senior Natalie Leist finished with 26 points -- including six 3-pointers.

--Alma Heights 51, Summit Prep 39: The Huskies were unable to keep up with one of the favorites in the Private School Athletic League.

"The main reason why we lost is we kept throwing away the ball," said Summit Prep senior Ariana Torrise, who added the team is focused on working together with the likes of point guard Valeria Sandoval, sophomore Murphy Callender, a transfer from M-A, and forward Mariah Levin. "One of the goals is to have everyone on board."

--The King's Academy 47, Crystal Springs Uplands 40: TKA trailed 29-19 at the half before putting it together in the second half of its West Bay Athletic League opener.

"Crystal Springs came to play," TKA coach Ron Kellner said. "They were schooling us in the first half. And we just decided to push the ball a little bit more and did a good job of getting the ball down low."

Forward Ashlirae Scott scored six of her eight points in the third quarter to spark the Knights (7-7, 1-0), who got strong perimeter play from Katie Young, Abby Katter and Falecia Sanchez, the team's leading scorer with 16 points.

--Saratoga 46, Los Altos 36: The Eagles (7-7, 1-1 SCVAL El Camino) trailed by 15 points entering the fourth quarter but maintained their intensity to close the gap, with Ideen Seyed scoring a team-high 13 points.

"We had some really good opportunities throughout, but our shots weren't falling in early," Los Altos coach Kevin Lee said. "If they play like that, we should contend for one of the top spots in the league throughout the season."

BOYS BASKETBALL

Double trouble from Harris

Menlo School-Atherton overcame a slow start behind another strong performance from 6-foot-6 senior Richard Harris, who matched his 16 points with as many rebounds in a 52-44 at Harker-San Jose.

The Knights (8-3, 2-0 WBAL) opened a 10-point lead in the second half, but Harker trimmed the deficit to two points.

"And then Richard Harris scored on a basket and that's as close as they got in the game," Menlo coach Delandro Leday said.

Leday attributed his team's mental toughness to a trip to Southern California, where the Knights played four games in the Chaminade Tournament.

"We've been through tough battles, so when a team makes a run at us we don't call a timeout," Leday said. "We just play through it."

Menlo got nine points each from Bobby Roth and Freddy Avis.

--Sacred Heart Prep 58, The King's Academy 36: With Tuesday's showdown with Pinewood looming, SHP (9-2, 2-0 WBAL) took care of business early at home against TKA (6-6, 0-2).

"We definitely weren't looking past that game," said SHP coach Tony Martinelli, whose team has gotten off to its fair share of slow starts. "And especially for us, we need to start playing better in the first quarter and we're trying to put that behind us."

Cole McConnell, a 6-5 senior, led the attack with four 3-pointers and 14 points, while teammate Matt McNamara chipped in with 11.

TKA, which trailed 31-12 at halftime, was led by Mark Petiti, who only needed a trio of treys to match the game-high 14 points.

--Pinewood 80, Crystal Springs Uplands 40: The Panthers (10-1, 1-0 WBAL) had four players in double digits, led by big man Solomone Wolfgramm (27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals). Fellow forward Owen Lewis added 12 points and four steals, Kevin Sweat had 11 points with four rebounds and Cameron Helvey added 10 points and five boards.

"I think that the pressure and the depth was the difference," Pinewood coach Jason Peery said.

--Alma Heights 58, Summit Prep 30: One of the bright spots for the Huskies (1-3 PSAL) was the tough inside play of 6-3 junior Chris Gorman, who is in his third year on varsity.

"I felt, especially in the first half, that if there were any missed shots, Chris came down with it," Summit coach Kieran McMillen said. "He's been growing not only physically, but also as a basketball player for three years."

<p>--Cupertino 45, Gunn 28: Within striking distance down four points at the half, the Titans -- who were led by Scott Kresie with 9 points -- were unable to keep pace.

"It was a battle," Gunn coach Mike Ferolino said. "They pulled away at the end and we just didn't shoot at certain points and they did."

--Saratoga 56, Los Altos 28: Oftentimes there are lessons to be learned from a loss. Los Altos, which won the Fremont Holiday Tourament last month, would much rather not remember a thing about its defeat at the hand of the Falcons.

The Eagles (8-5, 1-1 De Anza) trailed 31-6 at the half.

"This is a throwaway for sure," Los Altos coach James Reilly said. "They're good and they deserve to win, and they may be better than us perioud. But the way it went down was a bit of an aberration based on our performance."

Email Vytas Mazeika at [email protected].

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