On Thursday, December 3, the girls varsity soccer team opened its season with a tough matchup against Palo Alto, falling to the Vikings 4-1.

Palo Alto started it off strong by dominating the opening minutes. The Eagles were outmatched by the Vikings’ tough defense and fluid offense and less than ten minutes into the first half, Palo Alto had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

“In the first half, we didn’t come out as aggressive as we should have,” sophomore Meghan Huang said. “We definitely need to get better at coming out strong and competing from the very beginning.”

With twenty minutes left in the first half, Los Altos scored its first goal off of an indirect free kick by junior Alexandra Fowler. However, the Vikings kept up their commanding performance and responded with a goal of their own to close out the half with a 4-1 lead.

Going into the second half, the Eagles bounced back with better and more consistent offensive possession. On the defensive end, multiple saves by sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Smith kept Palo Alto from scoring throughout the half. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the second half, and the Vikings won 4-1.

Most of the Eagles’ problems stemmed from a lack of strong possession, letting Palo Alto work the ball around the field and dominate the run of play.

“For next time, we’re going to need to work on gaining more control in the midfield,” Huang said.

Los Altos will play its next game at Aragon on Monday, December 7. Their next home game will not be until the new year, when they host Gunn in their first SCVAL matchup on Wednesday, January 6.