Palo Alto High School triumphs with 11-10 win over MVHS

The Matadors started the game off strong, leading 4-2 by the end of the first quarter, with two goals contributed by junior Patrick Duffy. The two-point lead would be the largest of the game for the Matadors.

Two quick goals by PAHS in the opening minutes of the second quarter brought the game to a tie. The Matadors still managed to maintain a lead and ended the second quarter with a score of 6-5. In the third, the teams battled it out with PAHS answering goals made by Duffy. An assist from junior Greg Moe led to a goal by senior Colin Hong deep into the third quarter, which put the Matadors up by one. However, Duffy’s missed 5-meter penalty shot with 1:55 left ended MVHS’ offensive burst. The team’s numerous incomplete passes that ended up in the hands of opposing players contributed to the deteriorating offense late in the game. PAHS scored in the last nine seconds of the third to tie the match at 9-9.

“[We need to] work on passing the ball to our own teammates,” head coach Ben Vierra said post-game.

The first six minutes of the fourth quarter yielded one goal to each team, bringing the score to 10-10. With half a minute left in the game, the Matadors had possession of the ball and the chance to take the last shot of the game. But a strong PAHS defense stole the ball and the Matadors were forced to foul on the fastbreak, leading to a penalty shot and a one point for the Vikings. The lead would hold for the last ten seconds of the match.

“The minor details and the slight mistakes led to our loss,” junior Jeremy Kan said. Overall, he still believes the team performed well offensively and defensively against PAHS.

“We led the entire game except for the fourth period,” Vierra said, “but we let [the game] get away from us.” Vierra also stated that the team is clearly improving with each game and he hopes upcoming games will reflect that.