By Dick Sparrer
The Los Gatos boys' soccer team didn't win the championship in the De Anza division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this winter.
But the Wildcats did manage to beat the team that did.
The Cats wrapped up the regular season in impressive fashion with a 2-1 win over league champ Homestead.
The Mustangs managed a first-half goal against the Wildcats, but Gatos counted with two of its own--both by Andy Pierce off of assists from Carlos Velez.
The two goals stood up for the victory when the two clubs played through a scoreless second half.
The win left Los Gatos with a solid 6-3-2 league record and a firm hold on second place in the De Anza Division. The Wildcats will take an 8-7-3 season record into the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Prior to beating Homestead, the Wildcats had battled Palo Alto to a scoreless tie and dropped a tough 2-1 nod to Monta Vista despite a second-half goal by Pierce.
The Leigh boys, meanwhile, won twice last week, pounding Yerba Buena 7-0 and edging Independence 1-0.
The Longhorns are 8-1-3 in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and just a point behind Prospect in the race for the league title. Leigh is 9-3-3 for the year.
Gatos girls win
In girls' soccer action, Los Gatos rolled to two more wins to finish the regular season undefeated.
The Cats blanked Homestead 2-0 and whitewashed Gunn 3-0 to wrap up the De Anza Division with a 13-0-1 record. Los Gatos is 20-0-1 for the year. The only mar on the otherwise perfect Gatos record was a 1-1 tie with Los Altos in league play.
Senior team captain Stacey Mallison scored the only goal the Cats needed in the win over Homestead. Her unassisted goal gave Gatos a 1-0 first-half lead.
Junior Anne Zuparko took a pass from freshman Stacey Caro to score an insurance goal in the second half.
Later in the week, Gunn played Gatos to a scoreless first half before the Wildcats broke things open with three goals in the second half in a 3-0 victory.
Mallison knocked in two goals, one unassisted and the other off an assist from Amy White. Caro scored off a Zuparko assist to wrap up the scoring for the Wildcats.
Tie a loss for Leigh
The girls at Leigh battled Presentation to a 1-1 tie last week, but it was as a good as a loss for the Longhorns.
The Panthers all but wrapped up the title in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL with the tie.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 14, 1996.
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