“It was a good, tough game,” Kute said. “Mountain View beat Palo Alto 5-1, Palo Alto beat us 3-1, and so everybody in the league is very close.”

The Matadors entered the game as the favored team, with Mountain View’s track record at 5-5-3. However, the game was still a close one, according to player junior Julie Davis.

“It was a pretty hard fight until the end,” Davis said. “So we just put a lot more effort into it.”

According to Kute, the Matadors’ teamwork was another factor that led to the team’s success, both in this game and throughout their season.

“We’ve got some athletic girls who could play very well and run well up front,” Kute said. “It’s a good team as far as the girls all get along well, even when we have a little bit of a tough run.”

Even though the Matadors were able to win their game against the Spartans, there was some tension during play over the judge’s calls. After a third foul was called against MVHS players because of the way they were head-butting the ball, coach Kute became frustrated.

“Sir,” Kute said to the judge. “How many times?” Kute then turned to face the benched players and said: “I jump!”

According to team captain junior Michelle Pao, Kute’s frustration was understandable.

“The judge didn’t call some of the calls our coach wanted,” Pao said, “so he was mad about that.”

Having completed half of their season, the team hopes to score all the victories they can in the remaining half.

“If we could win any of these close games, we'll take them,” Kute said. “Because there are going to be a lot of them.”