By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
When freshman Paulina Vinolas found the back of the net with 10 minutes left to put the finishing touch on last Thursday’s 9-0 first-round masterpiece against Garfield, her Palisades High teammates celebrated as if they won the City title. That may only be a matter of time for the Dolphins, who looked every bit like City champions against the 13th-seeded Bulldogs.
“It felt really good – this is my first goal on varsity,” said Vinolas, one of several players called up from junior varsity for the playoffs. “I scored six [goals] on JV, but this is totally different. Teams are quicker, play is faster. Meghan [Jones] passed the ball, I just turned and shot it. It wasn’t one on one but it was almost an open net. I feel comfortable and it helps having better players around me.”
Photo: Steve Galluzzo
Vinolas is an example of why the Dolphins are so dangerous – they have many options on offense.
“Last year the bulk of our scoring came from Kaitlyn Parcell and Hannah De Silva. When Hannah (now a freshman at Long Beach State) got hurt, Kaitlyn was double- -teamed. Now teams can’t do that.”
Parcell wreaked havoc down the wing, assisting on five goals. The first came on a perfectly-placed cross to the foot of Ashley Conte, who tapped it past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 in the third minute. Conte finished with three goals and Erin Ross added two. In the closing seconds of the first half, Parcell curved a corner kick into the box where Frankie Van Norden headed it in for Palisades’ sixth goal.
The fourth-seeded Dolphins hosted No. 5 San Pedro in the quarterfinals yesterday. The winner advances to the semifinals Tuesday.
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