Menlo’s varsity girls soccer team beat Menlo-Atherton 2-1 at home on Thursday, Jan. 4. The Knights quickly gained the lead with a goal from junior Audrey Hochstetler. About a minute after the first goal, senior Lila Gold crossed the ball to sophomore Julia Axelrod for a header, bringing the Knights up by two goals. “We had a really good pregame meeting in the locker room and I think that led to us coming out strong with a lot of momentum,” Hochstetler said.
The Bears were unable to retaliate in the first half, with sophomore goalkeeper Bianca Putanec saving all attempted shots. However, with 18 minutes remaining in the second half, M-A scored, forcing the Knights to “scramble,” as head coach Ross Ireland put it, to maintain the lead. Despite many back and forths and with a near goal by senior Dorothy Zhang, the Knights clinched the game victory in the end without any more goals scored. This win brings the team’s preseason record to 2-3-2, a promising start to their season. “It’s a great inspiration going forward,” Ireland said. “It puts us in good stead for our Harker game to start league [games] next Tuesday.”
