Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Prospect's Ashley Bulik battles for the ball in a soccer win over Willow Glen. But the Rams could manage just a tie in a key battle with Piedmont Hills last week.

Warriors can't help Panthers

And Prospect comes up a little short

By Dick Sparrer

Prospect needed two things to happen last week to make an impact on the title race in girls' soccer action in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

The Panthers needed to win two games, and they needed a little help from their friends over at Westmont.

Well, they came close, but not quite close enough.

The Panthers pounded Westmont 6-0 for one win, but could manage just a tie against division-leading Piedmont Hills. And Westmont wasn't much help at all.

The Warriors opened the week dropping a 3-1 decision to Piedmont Hills, and they finished the week losing 3-0 to Lincoln.

Put it all together, and you'll find Prospect and Lincoln sharing second place, three points behind Piedmont Hills, heading into the final week of the league season.

Piedmont Hills improved to 9-1-2 in the division, and Prospect moved to 7-2-3 after last week's tie. Lincoln is 8-2-1 after beating Westmont. That puts the Pirates in first place with 20 points and the Panthers and Lions tied for second with 17 points apiece.

Westmont could have helped Prospect with a win over Piedmont Hills to open the week. Junior Kelly Larrus scored a second-half goal off an assist from senior Rita Salgado, but the Pirates scored once in the first half and twice in the second to pull out the win.

The Warriors had another chance to help the Panthers later in the week when they battled Lincoln. But Westmont dropped a 3-0 decision to the Lions. The Warriors slipped to 2-9-1 in the division and 4-11-4 for the year with the loss.

The only real help Westmont gave Prospect came when the two clubs played each other. The Panthers rolled to a league win over the Warriors. Prospect turned a 2-0 halftime lead into a lopsided 6-0 victory with four goals in the second half.

Lyndsay Spanek buried two goals and added an assist, and Kristel Munch had a goal and an assist to lead the Panthers to the victory. Sarah Yarnall, Nicole Kiyama and Brianne Copes added goals for Prospect.

The Panthers came back two days later to battle Piedmont Hills to a 1-1 tie. Munch scored a first-half goal and the Panthers and Pirates were locked in a 1-1 tie at intermission. That turned out to be the final score when the clubs fought through a scoreless second half.

Saratoga, meanwhile, had a tough week in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

The Falcons entered the week unbeaten and tied twice in the division, but couldn't manage a victory in four tries.

Saratoga fought Cupertino to a 2-2 tie and battled Milpitas and Wilcox to a couple of scoreless ties while losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Lynbrook.

First-half goals by freshman Mary Moran and Shannon Moore pushed the Falcons to a 2-0 lead at the half, but Cupertino fought back for two second-half goals to claim the 2-2 tie.

Moran scored off an assist from Brie Wilson, and Moore, the senior co-captain for the Falcons, scored off an assist from Allison Schraga.

After the 0-0 tie with Milpitas, Saratoga dropped a 1-0 nod to Lynbrook. The Falcons tied Wilcox 0-0 a day later to slip to 4-1-5 in the division and 6-4-5 for the year.

The Vikings improved to 6-2-3 with three wins last week, moving into first place in the division. Lynbrook blanked Fremont 6-0 and edged Santa Clara 1-0. The Vikes are 8-6-3 for the year.

In boys' soccer action, Prospect split a pair of games to fall back in the title race in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the BVAL.

Josh Anderson scored a first-half goal, but the Panthers were pounded 5-1 by Leland to open the week.

Prospect battled back for a 4-1 win over James Lick two days later to improve to 6-2-1 in the division and to 11-4-1 for the year.

Marcos Hernandez scored two goals, and Nelson Santana had a goal and an assist to lead the Panthers to the victory.

Saratoga split a pair of decisions to move to 6-2-2 in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL. The Falcons, 10-3-3 for the year, opened the week with a 4-1 win over Cupertino, but lost 2-1 to Milpitas.

Westmont, meanwhile, lost 4-1 to Willow Glen and 2-0 to Andrew Hill before claiming a 2-1 win over Silver Creek in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL. The Warriors are 2-6-1 in league play and 2-11-1 for the year.