With just two weeks left in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League soccer season, the current De Anza Division leaders are teams that achieved success in the El Camino Division last winter.

Monta Vista's girls and Homestead's boys have gone right to the head of the class in 2006, and they are working hard to maintain their first-place perches.

With a 7-1-1 record and 22 points, Monta Vista entered its final home game of the season, Jan. 31 against Palo Alto, with a four-point lead over Los Gatos (5-1-3, 18 points) and a five-point margin over Mountain View (5-3-2, 17). The Matadors close out division play next week at Gunn (1-8) on Feb. 7 and at Palo Alto on Feb. 9.

"Nearly every game has been close," admitted Monta Vista coach Alan Kute, following the Matadors' most recent close game--a scoreless tie at Los Gatos on Jan. 26.

The tie with Los Gatos came two days after junior Carine de la Girond'arc took a crossing pass from Jessica Lau and booted the decisive goal during the final minute of the Matadors' 2-1 win over visiting Saratoga.

Earlier in the second half, Lau scored her eighth goal of the season after an assist from Emily Rubin.

In the previous week, the Matadors won 2-1 over Gunn and Homestead and 1-0 against Mountain View. In the latter, Lau scored the lone goal after a pass from Erin Hoxsie with about 15 minutes remaining. Against Homestead, Hoxsie scored the game-winner with about eight minutes left.

"A lot of games have been decided by one goal, and we've been fortunate to be the team on top," explained Kute, whose team went 4-3-1 in non-league play. "The girls have stayed strong and not given up in games where they were behind or tied."

Monta Vista's defense has been anchored by juniors Alex Gatley and Jennifer Nguyen and sophomore Kasha Sang. The three provide the last line of defense in front of the goalkeeper, a position that has been shared by junior Anneliese Fetterman and sophomore Tacy Bechtel.

Solid midfield play has been provided by Deanna DesCamp, one of two seniors on the squad, along with Hoxsie, Rubin and sophomore Rosa Ahn. Jenny Kute, the coach's daughter, is a junior forward who has scored four goals and made 10 assists this year.

Homestead, 4-5 in De Anza girls action, has received strong play this season from goalie Megan Foeresch, Michelle Grabau, Diana Charrier, Kristina Roome, Chelsea Maniscalso and Nicole Caballero.

In the El Camino Division, Cupertino improved its record to 4-3-2 with two wins last week, 3-1 over Wilcox and 2-1 over Lynbrook.

Senior Page Dickson scored both goals against Lynbrook, with assists from freshman Danielle Matthews and senior Melanie Boyle. Freshman Victoria La Brie scored two goals and freshman Cici Kobinski had one against Wilcox. Boyle and freshman Amber Rue had assists.

Like Monta Vista's girls, Homestead's boys have climbed to the top of their standings by winning several one-goal games with a line-up filled with underclassmen.

"The boys work hard and take a lot of pride in their work," praised veteran coach Luis Comesana, whose team placed a close second to Cupertino in the El Camino Division last year. "The team deserves a lot of credit for turning things around."

Homestead, which features three sophomores and three freshmen among its starters, started slowly, going just 1-5-1 in non-league play, before getting on a roll in league play.

A 1-0 loss to Mountain View last week left the Mustangs with a 6-2 mark and 18 points with four games to go. The defeat also dropped Homestead into a first-place tie with Mountain View (5-2-3).

Homestead's defense has been led by senior goalie Matt Reed, senior defender Matt Nelson and sophomore sweeper Alex Plancarte. Sophomores Julio Castillo and Amaer Efemgovich and junior Brian Labbadie have played a strong midfield. Freshman forward Guillermo Plancarte, Alex's brother, scored both of the Mustangs' goals in a 2-1 win over Monta Vista on Jan. 19.

After a game at Santa Clara on Jan. 31, the Mustangs return home to host Cupertino on Feb. 3 at 3:30 p.m. The Pioneers have struggled to a 1-8-1 record, after winning the El Camino championship a year ago.

Monta Vista (2-7-1) got goals from junior Darryl Tom and senior Ian Courtright in a 2-1 win over Cupertino last Thursday. Junior Derek Ley and senior Desmond Chang had assists.

Knudsen wins title

Kim Knudsen, a senior at Lynbrook, captured the 103-pound championship at the Napa Valley Girls Wrestling Classic on Jan. 14. She beat Jenny Ho of San Leandro in the title bout.

'Tino boys win 20th

Cupertino's boys basketball team continues to roll.

The Pioneers reached the 20-win plateau with a 62-36 triumph over visiting Los Altos on Jan. 27. After building a 20-point lead by halftime, the Pioneers cruised past the Eagles and extended their El Camino record to 7-0. Senior Ehson Mortezaie paced Cupertino's balanced attack with 14 points. Senior David Warren (12) and sophomores Bryan Ly (11) and Eric Heslin (10) also scored in double digits.

A week earlier at Wilcox, despite the absence of scoring leader Warren, Cupertino jumped ahead 23-7 in the first quarter and never looked back. Jeremy Brinkerhoff (15 points), Heslin (14) and junior Ryan Matsuoka (14) came up big on the offensive end during the 75-40 victory.

Mortezaie triggered the offense with five assists to go with his nine points. Junior center Kenji Mitchell contributed nine points and six rebounds, while Matt McCormick scored eight points and picked off a team-high seven caroms.

Heslin sparkled on the defensive end, blocking four Wilcox shots and making three steals. McCormick had three blocks, and Mortezaie made three steals. McCormick (seven) Mitchell (six) and Brinkerhoff (five) combined for 18 of the Pioneers' 31 rebounds.

After playing this week at Lynbrook (Feb. 1) and at home against Monta Vista (Feb. 3), the Pioneers will travel to second-place Saratoga (6-1) on Feb. 8.

Monta Vista will enter the game at Cupertino with a 2-5 El Camino record and a 7-13 overall mark. The Matadors' most recent was a 55-47 decision over Lynbrook on Jan.18.

Monta Vista needed 20-point efforts from juniors Marcus Woo and Eric Lee to counter the 21-point outburst by Lynbrook junior Kris Gingrich. Juniors Phil Kou (13 points) and Brett Collotton (two) were the only other Matadors that scored. Ari Fine scored 10 and Steve Kemp eight for the Vikings.

In the De Anza Division, Homestead will try to even its record at 4-4 when it visits Fremont, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. The Mustangs, 10-11 overall, easily won their first meeting with the Firebirds, 51-26 in the division opener. There was nothing easy, however, about last week's games against front-runners Palo Alto (7-0) and Gunn (6-1). The Mustangs lost 67-33 to the first-place Vikings, two days after bowing to the Titans 45-17.

Homestead hopes to regain the form it showed during a 53-49 overtime decision at Los Gatos on Jan. 20. Senior guard David Ostrow scored 27 points in that game, including six free throws and a trio of three-pointers. Six-foot-seven junior Ryan Dedrick added 14, six from the foul line. Eric Liu tallied seven, Tim Vanderet four and Shamir Ross one. Vanderet grabbed 13 rebounds, Dedrick eight and Ross five for the Mustangs, who outworked the Wildcats 31-24 on the backboards.