In a sport where teamwork is vital to success, the Palisades High women’s soccer squad keeps winning in the best possible fashion–as a team. Coach Kim Smith’s Dolphins got key contributions from a multitude of players on their way to capturing first place at last weekend’s Grant Tournament in Van Nuys. The momentum from that triumph carried over to Monday night’s Western League game against University, where four different Dolphins scored en route to a 6-2 victory at Stadium by the Sea. “In the past we’ve had a tough time maintaining a high level against poor teams, but not now,” said sophomore goalie Kristin ‘Kiki’ Bailey, who was rarely tested against the overmatched Wildcats. “We had top stay there all day so we were determined to win the [Grant] tournament. That was a huge confidence booster for us to know we can compete with the top Valley teams.” In pool play, Pali blanked Kennedy 3-0, tied Alemany 1-1 and routed Poly 10-1. After shutting out the host Lancers, 7-0, in the semifinals, the Dolphins faced Sylmar for the championship–a rematch of their meeting several weeks before at Pali’s own tournament. That game ended in a scoreless tie. This time, freshman Melissa Tallis scored off a pass by sophomore Brittany Aliado from 18 yards out to tie the game, 1-1, with 15 minutes left in regulation. Palisades went on to prevail, 3-2, on penalty kicks and assistant coach Laura Bailey cited junior Leslie Ota’s strong play at forward as a factor in the outcome. “Leslie normally plays defense but their sweeper and keeper were huge so we moved her up to negate their size advantage,” said Bailey, herself a former goalie for the Dolphins. “She can steamroll anyone and she was really the game changer.” Senior Estefania Yanez-Ceballos was chosen the Dolphins’ defensive most valuable player while sophomore Kathryn Gaskin was picked offensive MVP. What has made the Dolphins so tough to beat so far, however, is depth at every position and their ability to adapt to different styles. “The girls have really improved their combination passing and their runs off the ball,” Coach Bailey said. “It really has been a whole team effort.” Palisades has grown accustomed to home night games this season and, despite only one day’s rest from their tournament triumph, had an easy time with the visiting Wildcats on Monday. Gaskin and freshman Katie van Daalen Wetters netted two goals apiece while sophomore Samantha Elander and junior Yasmine Tabatabai each added one. The front-running Dolphins (7-2-3 overall, 4-0 in league) traveled to LACES Wednesday and host Westchester Friday at 2:30 p.m. Boys Soccer Etiah Van Herwerden scored off of an assist from David Linares in the 10th minute and Linares tallied the game-winner with 15 minutes remaining as the Dolphins remained undefeated in league with a 2-1 victory Monday at University. “We’ve been playing a 4-4-2 formation since league started and we’re getting more scoring chances,” said Van Herwerden, who just missed a second goal when he shot wide on a breakaway late in the first half. “We need to get better at finishing but overall we’re controlling play pretty well.” University tied the game early in the second half on a well-placed shot, but Linares made sure the Dolphins would leave with a victory, dribbling through a maze of orange jerseys and blasting a shot into the left corner of the net. “So far we’re doing pretty good,” Linares said. “We’re playing better as a team.” First-year coach Dave Suarez had implored his players to run over Winter Break: ‘I can’t make them do it. I told them this is their season and if they want to win bad enough they’ll do what they need to do to stay in shape.’ Van Herwerden admitted endurance was a factor in the Dolphins’ first game back from a three-week break. “Our conditioning wasn’t there and our touch was off a bit,” he said. “This field is also a lot harder to play on than ours. You never know how or where the ball is going to bounce.” The win kept Palisades (3-2-1, 3-0-1) atop the Western League standings heading into Wednesday’s home game against LACES.
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