Eagles' fight comes up short Eagles' fight comes up short (February 11, 2005)

Los Altos girls soccer at risk of dropping to lower division

By Scott Campbell

In a microcosm of its season, Los Altos began its match against host Saratoga with the makings of a strong performance, but ultimately succumbed in frustrating fashion, losing 2-1 on Feb. 4.

The Eagles were forced to scramble early this season as 10 talented freshmen opted to only play for the MVLA Mercury, a nationally-ranked club team, and not for their school team. Already lacking these talents, Los Altos lost leading scorer Jackie D'Innocenti, sick with a flu virus, for the game.

Nevertheless, Los Altos (2-11-6 overall, 2-7-2 league) began this De Anza Division game with a fluid attack that paid immediate dividends.

In the fourth minute, two Eagles freshmen, Lani Yort and Amanda Lipson, worked together to draw the Falcons keeper out with a shot that caromed in front of the goal. Los Altos forward Alicia Incerpi knocked the ball in to give her team a 1-0 lead.

"The ball got loose, and I was there to volley it in," said Incerpi, a senior co-captain. "Our passing was on target. We took it to them on offense."

Los Altos controlled the ball with its superior footwork and precision passes, and limited Saratoga to one shot through the first 25 minutes of the game.

"In the first half, we were more dominant and more aggressive," said Eagles coach Roberto Magellan. "We have excellent players that can touch the ball ... and we had more legs in the beginning."

Just before halftime, Saratoga (7-7-5 overall, 2-6-3 league) began to assert itself. Falcons forward Nikki Franchi delivered a soft pass to forward Caroline Charles, who tied the game at 1-1 by striking the ball into the left side of the Los Altos net.

Sparked by its score, a more aggressive Saratoga team began to pummel the Eagles' goal in the second half.

"We put pressure on the ball, and we were able to transition our defense into our offense," said Falcons coach David Blutrich.

Los Altos was fortunate to withstand eight Falcon corner kicks without allowing a goal, but its luck ran out in the 65th minute.

Saratoga midfielder Nicole Sabes took a header from Franchi and chipped it into the right side of the goal for the final 2-1 score.

"It was hard for us to have that inexperience in the back, trying to hold it together when they kept coming at us," said Los Altos midfielder Sarah Nolet. "It just kind of all fell apart."

With a season-ending match against Los Gatos on Feb. 9 (after the Voice went to press), the Eagles were in a fight to retain their status as members of the upper division. Despite developing seven freshmen and challenging in most of its matches, Los Altos could drop to the El Camino Division as the De Anza Division's lowest finisher

"Unfortunately, we've come to a time where we have to look at the other results just so we can stay in the De Anza," said Magellan. "It's going to be a drag to have us in the lower division."

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

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