The Los Altos High girls soccer team’s 1-0 win over Mountain View last week might just signify that the rivalry between the two teams is back on.
At least that’s what Eagles coach Zanin Mahic hopes after guiding his squad to its first victory over the Spartans in a decade.
“It is back,” he said. “I think it will be like this for years to come.”
It didn’t look that way for the first 15 minutes of the Jan. 18 game; Mountain View dominated possession and nearly scored on a shot that bounced off the crossbar.
“It was all Mountain View – they put a lot of pressure on us,” Mahic said. “But then we settled in and controlled the game tempo for the last half of the first half.”
In the 20th minute, the host Eagles scored on freshman Parisa Abedi’s shot from just inside the 6-yard box, assisted by Anya Lin.
In the second half, the Spartans “came in hot,” Mahic said, but “our defense did a fantastic job, and they didn’t get more than one shot on goal.”
Although Los Altos won the Central Coast Section Division I title after placing second to Mountain View in the SCVAL De Anza Division last season and went as far as the NorCal semifinals, Mahic called last week’s win “the most intense match I’ve been a part of in my two years here.”
The Eagles, who blanked Homestead 2-0 Friday, are now 3-1-1 in the De Anza. Only the Spartans, who trounced Gunn 5-0 Friday, have a better league record (4-1-1).
Girls basketball
Crystal Springs Uplands stunned host Pinewood 51-40 Friday in West Bay Athletic League play. Ava Uhrich scored 21 points for the Panthers (2-1 league, 6-6 overall).
Uhrich also led Pinewood in its 65-34 rout of Harker Jan 17. She totaled 28 points and 21 rebounds in the home game. Gabby Yang added 17 points.
Los Altos got going in the fourth quarter to beat host Lynbrook 37-30 Jan. 17.
The Eagles, even with the Vikings at the end of the third, outscored them 18-11 in the final stanza of the De Anza Division contest.
Macy Watson scored 13 points and Maggie Byrne added eight for Los Altos (2-4 league, 8-8 overall).
Boys basketball
Los Altos kept pace with first-place Palo Alto for three quarters, but the host Vikings took over in the fourth to prevail 50-44 Jan. 18.
Tied with Paly going into the fourth, the Eagles were outscored 15-9 the rest of the way.
Los Altos dropped to 2-3 in the De Anza and 7-9 overall.
St. Francis split its two games last week, putting the team at 3-3 in the West Catholic Athletic League and 10-5 overall.
The host Lancers opened by beating Serra 59-46 behind Anujan Tennathur’s 22 points Jan. 17.
Friday, St. Francis lost 63-56 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Gavin Everett scored 13 points for the Lancers.
Boys soccer
Mountain View scored early and late in last week’s 2-0 shutout of rival Los Altos.
Taaran Chohan struck first for the host Spartans, scoring off a rebound of a corner kick 15 minutes into the Jan. 18 league match.
“After that, the game was tight and both teams went back and forth with very few good chances,” Mountain View coach Jim McGuirk said.
The Spartans added an insurance goal with 10 minutes to play when “Ali Edris scored off a great pass from Sola Nishimura,” according to McGuirk.
Mountain View, which tied Gunn 1-1 Friday, entered this week at 2-1-3 in the De Anza Division and 8-1-4 overall. Los Altos lost 4-1 to Homestead Friday, dropping the Eagles to 3-2-1 in the De Anza and 7-2-2 overall.
Wrestling
Mountain View clobbered Cupertino 76-4 Jan. 18, while Los Altos beat Saratoga by default.
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