Paly upset by Spartans, 2-1 Paly upset by Spartans, 2-1 (January 21, 2005)

Team takes first win against Vikings in four years

By Scott Campbell

All of Mountain View's hard work in playing Palo Alto to a 1-1 draw late in a Jan. 14 game seemed to be for naught as the Vikings were awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute.

"'We're losing 2-1,' that's my emotion," said Mountain View coach Jim McGuirk as Manny Barragan lined up for the kick. The penalty was the result of a foul by Spartan goalkeeper David Ronconi while he protected against a breakaway goal.

But Ronconi dove to his right to stop Barragan's shot near the post.

"To tell you the truth, I just prayed," said Ronconi, the Spartans captain. "I just decided to go one way, and it turned out I went the right way."

Given a reprieve, Mountain View responded with a goal by Jesus Acosta, his second of the afternoon, to seal a 2-1 victory, the team's first over Palo Alto in four years.

For most of the first half, the Spartans barely challenged the Vikings, the leaders of the upper De Anza Division both teams are in.

"It was probably nerves more than anything," said McGuirk. "There was probably a little bit at the beginning of the game thinking, 'Can we play with these guys? Are we good enough?'"

Palo Alto (7-3-2 overall, 4-1 league) asserted itself in the 10th minute thanks to some fancy footwork by Barragan. Following a Vikings' corner kick, Barragan trapped the ball eight yards away from the Spartans' net, quickly spun and fired the ball past Ronconi for the 1-0 lead.

While Mountain View (8-3-3 overall, 3-3 league) looked overmatched in the early stages, a different team emerged from halftime. Crisp passes on offense and more aggressive tackling on defense quickly allowed the Spartans to assume control of the action.

When Acosta, a senior forward, found the Palo Alto goal empty six minutes into the second half, he sliced a right-footed kick to tie the game at 1-1.

"I kind of felt that I wasn't going to get it, but I went in anyways and I scored," said Acosta.

After surviving the Vikings' penalty kick, Mountain View again converted a scoring opportunity with its aggressive play.

Seeing a loose ball in front of the Vikings' net in the 74th minute, Spartans junior midfielder Alex McCormick rushed toward the ball, only to collide with the Vikings' goalkeeper and send the ball spinning toward the goal. An alert Costa tapped the ball in for the game-winning score.

"This win is absolutely huge," said Ronconi, a four-year player who had never tasted success against the Vikings. "Words can't describe it. To beat them seems almost unreal."

The Spartans will travel to Santa Clara on Jan. 21 and host Gunn on Jan. 26.

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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