Palisadians Ali Riley and Lizzy Danhakl led their respective soccer teams to the semifinals of the NCAA women’s tournament. Riley, a junior at Stanford, moved from starting forward to starting defense this season and her solid play is a big reason the Cardinal (22-2-1) reached the Final Four in Division I. Riley, who played for the New Zealand national team at the Beijing Olympics, was the Palisadian-Post’s ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ in 2006. Stanford lost to top-ranked Notre Dame last Friday in North Carolina. Notre Dame lost to North Carolina, 2-1, in Sunday’s final. Danhakl, meanwhile, sparked Williams College in Massachusetts to the Division III semifinals. A starting left defender and left midfielder for the top-ranked Ephs (19-1-1), Danhakl is a big reason her team advanced to the Final Four for the first time ever. Williams lost to defending champion Wheaton College last Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wheaton was beaten 5-0 by Messiah in Saturday’s final. Danhakl, an economics and art history major, also runs track and established a new school record in the 800 meters as a freshman at the NCAA Nationals last year. Both Riley and Danhakl played club soccer for the Westside Breakers and made All-Mission League and All-CIF at Harvard-Westlake High.
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