Photograph by George Sakkestad
Soaring high to get his head on the soccer ball is Walker Pearce-Percy (left) of Los Gatos. The Wildcats went on to blank the Vikings 3-0.
By Dick Sparrer
It was a big week for Anne Zuparko.
The talented soccer player signed her National Letter of Intent with UC-Berkley, and she scored a couple of goals in a couple of wins for the Los Gatos girls' soccer team.
But these were more than just a couple of victories. These were wins over key rivals in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League--wins that kept the Wildcats hot in the race for the division championship.
Zuparko scored a goal in a 2-0 Los Gatos victory over Gunn, and she came back with another goal in a 4-1 win over powerful Los Altos.
The two wins helped the Wildcats improve to 10-2 in the division and to 12-2 for the year. Gunn slipped to 6-3 in the division after the week-opening loss, and Los Altos dropped to 9-2 after falling to the Cats.
Zuparko buried a penalty kick to give the Cats a 1-0 lead that stood up through halftime against the Titans. Tyler Holcomb popped a goal off a Marcia Wallis assist to give the Cats a little insurance ion the second half.
The big game, though, was later in the week when the Wildcats hosted the Eagles. Los Altos came in with a 9-1 division record and Gatos trailed at 9-2. But the rousing 4-1 Los Gatos victory pushed the Wildcats ahead of the Eagles in the division standings.
Adrianne Busi gave Los Gatos a 1-0 lead at intermission with her first-half goal.
Los Altos scored a goal in the second half, but Gatos scored three to nail the convincing victory. Zuparko, Natalie Stuhlmueller and Wallis each scored in the second half to help Gatos clinch the win. Stuhlmueller joined Zuparko in signing a National Letter of Intent with UC-Berkeley last week.
Los Gatos wrapped up the week by battling a tough Amador Valley team to a 1-1 tie in the Los Gatos Jamboree last weekend.
The clubs battled through a scoreless first half before each team scored in the second half. Amie Salfen nailed a penalty kick for the only Los Gatos goal of the day.
The Leigh girls continued their winning ways with a pair of shutout wins last week. The Longhorns blanked Oak Grove 4-0 and edged Santa Teresa 1-0 to improve to 6-3-1 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Senior Jessica Intrator buried a first-half goal and that stood up for Leigh's 1-0 win over the Saints last week.
Sophomore forward Emily Patterson had two goals and an assist to lead Leigh to a 4-0 win over Oak Grove to open the week. Michelle Lawrence and Candise Leven also scored goals for the Longhorns and Intrator, Kassie Doubrava and Heidi Rawson added assists.
Leigh, 16-3-1 this season, will wrap up the regular season this week, hosting Leland on Feb. 12 and visiting Independence on Feb. 14 in a couple of 3:15 p.m. games.
The Los Gatos boys, meanwhile, split three De Anza Division decisions. The Wildcats tied Palo Alto 0-0 and blanked Lynbrook 3-0, but lost a tough 2-0 nod to Monta Vista to slip to 4-2-3 in league play and 8-2-3 for the year.
Zack Pine drove in a first-half goal off an Andy Pierce assist to give the Cats the only goal they'd really need in the 3-0 win over Lynbrook.
Nick Hoffman knocked in a penalty kick in the second half to give the Wildcats a little breathing room at 2-0, then Chris Cavanaugh gave Gatos even more insurance when he scored a goal.
Things didn't go quite as well for Los Gatos against Monta Vista a couple of days later. The Matadors scored a goal in each half to pull out a 2-0 victory over the Wildcats.
Los Gatos opened the week by battling Palo Alto to a scoreless tie. Paly and Monta Vista are currently fighting it out for the division lead.
Leigh ran its record to 7-1-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL with a tight 2-1 victory over Oak Grove. The Longhorns are 13-3-3 for the year.
The 'Horns were trailing 1-0 at the halftime break, but Rooz Tahamtanzadeh tied it in the second half when he scored off a Kelly Gray assist.
Leigh broke the tie when Hector Sorto booted home a penalty kick, and they held on for the 2-1 victory.
The Longhorns will close out the regular season this week when they visit Valley Christian on Feb. 12 and host Independence on Feb. 14 in a pair of 3:15 p.m. games.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 12, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.