Mountain View girls all but settle league soccer race

The girls soccer season begins its final stretch with as many questions as there are answers.

Mountain View (13-0-1, 7-0), which all but clinched the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division following Wednesday’s competitive 4-2 home victory over Gunn, should be ranked among the top two or three teams in the Central Coast Section when it comes time to decide postseason status.

The Central Coast Section Open Division will likely be as balanced as it ever has, with as many as four West Catholic Athletic League teams in contention along with the Spartans, Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division leader Woodside and second-place Burlingame, and Leigh and Leland, the top two teams from the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Hamilton Division.

St. Francis edged Mitty 1-0 on Wednesday to knock the defending champions into fourth place in the WCAL. And there’s no way to keep Mitty out of the Open Division. The Lancers (9-0-4, 4-0-2) and St. Ignatius (7-2-3, 4-0-2) are tied for the league lead and Valley Christian (10-2-1, 3-1-1) has a slight edge over the Monarchs (8-4-2, 3-2-1) with a game in hand.

Gunn became the first time to score more than one goal in a game against Mountain View.

“We knew it would be a better game,” Spartans coach Jeff Panos said. “Both teams were missing players the last time and today you had two teams with full rosters.”

Gunn was missing seven starters in its last meeting with Mountain View and the Spartans were without Allie Montoya, who is heading to Stanford in the fall.

Montoya scored twice Wednesday, making a huge difference. Isabella Walker and Karena Shah also scored for Mountain View, which forced Gunn goalie Julia Dellenbach to make 11 saves, several of them in spectacular fashion.

Gunn did not lack for scoring opportunities either. Ana Schremp, a teammate with Montoya at the club level, gave the Titans (8-4-3, 3-2-2) a 1-0 lead after converting a penalty kick (handball) in the 24th minute.

Two minutes later, Montoya won a 50-50 ball and then beat Dellenbach in a 1-on-1 situation.

Elina Saab-Sundén nearly put Gunn back on top with a free kick that was destined for the upper left corner before Mountain View’s Sophia Saskai punched it away.

With under two minutes to play in the first half, Dellanbach made a great diving stop but could not control the ball and Walker took advantage for the go-ahead score.

Mia Steadman tied the match after taking a through ball from Saab-Sundén and driving it 30-35 yards into the net.

Shah’s goal came in the 60th minute and Montoya’s second goal came moments before the match ended.

Abby Westcott and Elechi Iroaga came up with several big defensive plays for Mountain View. Helena Detering and Sawyer McKenna starred for the Gunn defense.

Freshman Kamryn Rosa has been coming up big for St. Francis and Wednesday’s match at Mitty was no exception. She outmaneuvered the Mitty goalie to break a scoreless tie and keep the Lancers unbeaten.

Charlotte Kohler and Brooklyn O’Brien were also impressive for the Lancers.

In Palo Alto’s shutout win over Los Gatos, Katherine Thomsen and Olivia Milne scored and the Vikings also got solid play from Sedona Silva, Brighid Baker and goalie Mars Bau.

Boys soccer

Sophomore Alex Boesch and senior Jonah Blaydes-Greenberg scored goals and Menlo School rallied for a 2-1 victory over Crystal Springs Uplands iin a West Bay Athletic League game.

Following a scoreless first half, the Gryphons got on the board first. Boesch scored the equalizer with a header, getting an assist from senior Amari Makasini with 15:10 left.

Seven minutes later, Blaydes-Greenberg scored off a goalie deflection.

Menlo (5-3-2, 3-1) plays undefeated Harker at home Friday.

Will Maxwell scored a goal and recorded an assist in helping Sacred Heart Prep beat Priory 4-0.

Colin Johnson, Beau Dunlevie and Sean Tinsley also scored for the Gators (8-4-1, 6-1).

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Gunn bounced back from a loss with a 1-0 victory over Mountain View.

Dane Jefferson scored the lone goal in the first half. After stealing the ball from the center back, he got around the goalie to score in an open net.

The Titans had a few more opportunities in the first half but didn’t capitalize.

The Titan defense played strong and kept a clean sheet to secure the win. Next up is Santa Clara on the road, Friday at 6 pm.

Nadav Sternheim scored twice and Zachary Cooper recorded both assists as Palo Alto played Los Gatos to a 2-2 draw.

Paly goalie Isaac Kirby recorded five saves.

Josh Van Tassel scored on assists from Braden Harrison and Rafael Ulloa but Los Altos fell to Santa Clara 2-1. Zach Meyn and Danny Morales shared goaltending duties.

Girls basketball

Mollie Kuelker scored 26 points and Vallory Kuelker added 13 and Gunn beat Cupertino 60-46 in a SCVAL El Camino contest.

Palo Alto beat Lynbrook 62-24 in a SCVAL De Anza Division contest.

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