The Los Altos girls soccer team came away with a 1-0 victory at Gunn in an SCVAL De Anza Division matchup Wednesday night. The win improves the Eagles' record to 6-1-2 (4-0-1 SCVAL-DA) while the Titans drop to 1-7-2 (0-5-0).
Stephanie Kouvelas scored the only goal of the game on a quick, sweeping pass from Tess Wendelken in the 36th minute.
"We got the goal we needed," Los Altos goalkeeper Elena Straw said. "We finally pulled it together."
Los Altos took advantage by pressing forward with multiple players in the penalty area, primarily in the form of Kouvelas and Carrie Wendelken. Kouvelas and the Wendelken sisters are all freshmen.
"The more numbers in the box, the better chance you have of scoring," Los Altos coach Armando Luna said. "It really strengthens your team."
Up to that point, the Titans put up a very strong fight, with defender Emily Aiken and goalkeeper Adriana Noronha providing excellent blocks to keep the game tied through most of the first half.
Offensively, however, the Titans struggled from the get-go, struggling to maintain possession for more than a few seconds at a time. Gunn midfielders Lauren Johnson and Robin Waymouth fought to keep the teams on even ground.
The Gunn girls broke through a tough Eagle defense in the sixth minute, but Waymouth was denied on a breakaway after she was sent through on a nice pass by fellow midfielder Caroline Anderson.
The second half started off with increased tensions. Gunn came back fighting, with striker Ming Ming Liu giving the Titans a chance in the 60th minute. However, the Los Altos defense stayed strong and the chance was denied.
The final 20 minutes of the game were a stalemate, the aggression and skill fairly balanced until, once again, Liu charged forward unassisted. With the sudden burst of energy, Gunn offense picked up and held most of the possession for the last 10 minutes of the game. But despite this last-ditch effort to overpower the Los Altos defense, Gunn fell short.
"There were no real threats," coach Luna said. "But we could've done more."
Both teams continue play Friday, with Gunn traveling to battle Mountain View (10-2-1, 3-1-1) and Los Altos hosting undefeated Los Gatos (10-1-1, 5-0-0).
