Girl’s varsity soccer kicks off league play, loses 1-4 to Menlo

The girls’ Varsity soccer team lost 1-4 to Menlo today, marking their move from the West Bay Athletic League’s Skyline Division to the higher-level Foothill Division.

Center midfielder Kailee Gifford scored in the last quarter of the game.

“It was a 50-50 ball and one of our mids won it,” Gifford said. “Joelle [Anderson (10)] set it up perfectly, and I had nobody on me.”

Menlo is a highly competitive team in the highly competitive division, according to center forward Joelle. The Eagles’ halftime score against the 2014 Central Coast Section champions was 0-2.

Assistant Coach Andrew Ransome talked about the game’s significance. Last year, the Eagles were champions of the Skyline Division with a 12-3-1 record, earning them entry into the Foothill Division this year.

“We knew that all the games moving forward would be a lot harder,” Ransome said. “This was our first game, and this was really our first true test.”

Team captain Gabriela Gupta (12) finds the move to the Foothill Division important for the team’s younger players.

“Our first game was against one of our toughest opponents, and they had some new players,” Gupta said. “We have a lot of freshmen this year, so it’s good that they’re getting this level of play and the higher pace.”

The girls will play Menlo again on Jan. 29 at Menlo.

The Varsity boys and girls soccer teams will play their annual Kicks Against Cancer game on Jan. 23 against Priory and Notre Dame-San Jose respectively, to raise funds for children with cancer to attend Camp Okizu.