Men’s soccer beats cancer in a close game

The Palo Alto High School Men’s Soccer Club (3-2-2) Defeated the Gun Titans (1-3-2), 3-2, Wednesday at home.

The Vikings entered the game with a solid start despite last week’s loss to Santa Clara, according to Paly head coach Rusty Millard.

“Our thinking was that we stumbled against Santa Clara last Friday and wanted to make sure we got revenge for that outcome,” Millard said. “We also knew it was a rivalry game tonight. All the kids know each other.

The cross-town rivalry between Parry and Gunn has existed in the Palo Alto community for decades, so the winner of this match was awarded the “Palo Alto Cup.”

Vikings senior attacking midfielder Alec Profitt said games against Gunn tend to present challenges.

“It’s always great when you play with Gunn,” Profit said. “We knew it was going to be a fight because the match is always tough.

Gunn started strong with an early shot blocked by Vikings senior goaltender Isaac Kirby. After a long battle for possession in midfield and several missed shots by both teams, Parry launched an aggressive attack in the 20th minute following a third free-kick and was deflected by the Gunn goalkeeper. Saw the first shot at the target, although it was shot.

The Titans showed dominance late in the first half, having seven or more shooting opportunities in the final 20 minutes of the first half, while Parry had only three. Also, the Titans had more possessions than the Vikings. However, in the final five minutes of the first half, a panic clearance by Gunn led to free throws being launched near Gunn’s corner. The free-throw was thrown into the goal box and Profitt volleyed into the goal to end the first half 1-0 in favor of Parry.

According to Profit, despite fighting Titan’s defenses,after a series of mistakes by the Titans, the Vikings were able to reverse the tide of play.

“It meant a lot to the team to survive the adversity during the match,” said Profitt. “It doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, but we were able to fight back, so it’s good to finish the first half and be on top.”

Millard said the Vikings were leading 1-0, but were disappointed with their performance so far and realized they needed to step up their game.

“At the end of the first half, my message to the group was that we weren’t very happy with the entire first 40 minutes,” said Millard. “Kudos to the team for scoring a goal three minutes before half-time, but we still knew it. [our playing] I needed to do better. ”

The Vikings started the second half strong, with senior Vikings striker Dinu Deshpande scoring from a long through pass by Vikings senior centre-back Jonas Pao just five minutes after half-time to extend the Vikings lead by two. I increased it to -0. Shortly after, Gunn was awarded a penalty kick and Titans senior center midfielder Kai Parker hit the ball past the goalkeeper to make the score 2-1.

A few minutes later, the Vikings responded with a series of passes, with Vikings senior midfielder Hunter Aronson scoring after narrowly beating the Gunn goalkeeper to the ball, setting the score at 3-1. The Titans quickly retaliated, with Parker scoring another penalty kick attributed to a slide tackle misjudgment by the Vikings, giving the score 3-2 in Parry’s favour.

In the final 20 minutes of the match, the Vikings put together just one more offensive try. Vikings senior striker Josh Ramos fired a shot from outside the box that bounced off the goalpost. The Titans desperately tied the game and the pace of play quickened. Gunn was consistently in the Parry half, with multiple powerful shots saved by Kirby.

According to Gunn’s head coach Baba Marquez, he was proud of the team’s level of play, but a few unlucky moments ultimately led to their defeat.

“It’s really hard to beat us when you play as a team,” Marquez said. “I saw some mistakes that young players are supposed to make…but I think I played a really good match today.”

Millard said that even if the Vikings win, each member of the team has a desire to improve in their position.

“The team has built a strong brotherhood, united around each other,” says Millard. “I think we all have a high level of desire to make us better in terms of improvement.”

The Vikings lost 4-0 to the Mountain View Spartans (3-1-3) on Friday and are scheduled for a rematch with the Titans at Gunn High School on Monday at 7pm.