Soccer Squads Kick into Quarters

Last week was all about winning for the soccer programs at Palisades High. While the boys are sailing in uncharted waters, the girls are right where they are accustomed to being. Each established itself as a serious threat to win the City Section championship after posting impressive victories. The boys had reason to be excited after last Friday’s dramatic 1-0 second-round win over Fremont. According to assistant coach John Lissauer it has been about 20 years since the Dolphins have advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs. “This is a team that just doesn’t quit. They play for the full 80 minutes,” said head coach Dave Suarez, who saw his team lose badly to Bell in the first round last year. “We’re the highest seed left in our half of the draw so I’m anxious to see how far we can take it.” The seventh-seeded Dolphins (9-1-5) hosted No. 18 Locke (9-8-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday (result undetermined at press time). If victorious they would host the winner between No. 14 Narbonne and No. 22 Bravo Medical in the semifinals next Monday at 3 p.m. at Stadium by the Sea. The City championship game will be played Saturday, March 6, at Contreras High in Los Angeles. Every game presents an opportunity for somebody to make a big play and Friday’s hero turned out to be Pali’s diminutive sophomore midfielder Kevin Strangeway, who cut across the goalmouth and headed in a cross from Max Ledesma for the game’s only goal in the 73rd minute. “I saw throughout the game that our No. 1 set [corner] play wasn’t working because Fremont was clogging the middle,” Suarez said. “So I called for something shorter, hoping to draw their defenders out, then play the ball right back in, and it worked.” Instead of curving his corner kick towards the net on the first strike, Ledesma touched the ball back up the sideline, waited for the return pass and one-timed it into the penalty area where Strangeway was waiting to re-direct it just inside the left goalpost. Moments later, Palisades goalie Casey Jordan was issued a yellow card for delay of game after taking too long to put the ball in play on a goal kick. The infraction meant that Jordan had to leave the game, leading to some tense moments as the clock wound down. The referee allowed Palisades one last chance to re-insert Jordan with 90 seconds left in injury time, but Suarez opted to stay with backup Charlie Bailey. Once again, the coach’s intuition proved to be spot on as Bailey came off his line to punch away a loose ball just before the final whistle. “Casey made a couple of huge saves for us earlier, but at that point I had a lot of confidence in Charlie so I stuck with him,” Suarez said. “It’s a great luxury to have the depth we do at that position. If I could take any two goalies in the City, I’d pick those guys 1-2.” The 10th-seeded Pathfinders (11-3-4) were controlling play early in the second half but could not put a shot past Jordan. Palisades dominated the final 15 minutes and its late pressure, coupled with Fremont’s tiring defense, led to the decisive goal. “At the end of games is where conditioning really becomes a factor,” said Palisades assistant coach Rigoberto Rivas, who played for the Dolphins under previous head coach David Williams. “Yes, they were controlling play most of the second half, but they were expending a lot of energy in the process.” In the first round last Wednesday the Dolphins dominated 26th-seeded Lincoln from the opening whistle, Jordan having to make only four saves in a 2-0 victory at Stadium by the Sea. A Lincoln defender accidentally deflected the ball into his own net off a corner kick by Ledesma late in the first half. Then, the Dolphins added an insurance goal on a well-placed turnaround shot from 12 yards out by Jesse Vasquez midway through the second half. Meanwhile, the girls squad keeps rolling along under head coach Kim Smith. Palisades appears to be on a collision course with top-seeded El Camino Real, but in order for that to happen the fifth-seeded Dolphins (16-5-2) must get past No. 4 San Pedro (16-5-1) in a quarterfinal game this Thursday in the South Bay. The Western League champion Dolphins blanked Kennedy 2-0 in their playoff opener last Thursday at Stadium by the Sea. Top scorer Kathryn Gaskin notched her 26th goal of the season on a breakway in the closing seconds of the first half to put her team ahead. Palisades quickened the pace when play resumed and was rewarded when sophomore forward Katie Van Daalen Wetters tapped home a loose ball after the Cougars’ goalie mishandled a cross from freshman Jacklyn Bamberger in the 50th minute. “Kathryn getting that goal going into halftime was huge,” said Van Daalen Wetters, who scored 14 goals as a freshman last year and has 11 so far this season. “We wanted to follow it up and do what we do best. I’m really looking forward to the next game.” The semifinals are next Tuesday, March 2, and the finals are March 6 at Contreras High.