By Dick Sparrer
There aren't many seniors on the field for the Los Gatos girls' soccer team this winter.
In fact, there are only two... Stacey Mallison and Amy White.
The rest of the 16 Wildcats are underclassmen, and four of them are just freshmen.
But don't confuse youth with lack of experience. And don't confuse youth with lack of talent.
Because the Wildcats have plenty of both this season, and the teams of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's De Anza Division are finding out just how much.
The Cats ran their league record to 4-0 and their season mark to 11-0 with a pair of wins last week.
Gatos had opened division play a week earlier with back-to-back 1-0 wins over St. Francis and Saratoga, then the Cats blanked Mountain View 2-0 and Palo Alto 5-0 to continue their winning ways.
Mallison knocked in a pair of first-half goals, one off of an assist from Natalie Stuhlmueller, to lead the Wildcats to the tight win over Mountain View.
A couple of days later, five different players scored, including a pair of freshmen, to drive the Cats to a lopsided 5-0 win over Palo Alto.
Freshman Amie Salfen had a goal and an assist and frosh Stacey Caro added a goal to spark Gatos to the win over the Vikings.
Juniors Kelly Lumby and Stephanie Lappen also scored goals, and sophomore Melissa Schmidt knocked in a goal for the Cats in the win. Mallison, Christy Filice, Lauren Proctor and freshman Giselle Sylvester chipped in with assists for the winners.
Things were a bit tighter a week earlier in the 1-0 wins over the Lancers and Falcons.
Mallison snapped a scoreless tie when she buried a penalty kick with three minutes left in the game.
Gatos goalie Carrie Walsh recorded the shutout for the Cats, one of four in league play for Gatos. White and Anne Zuparko were defensive standouts for the Wildcats.
Adrianne Busi almost broke up the scoreless duel early in the second half, but the St. Francis goalkeeper came through with a fingertip save.
The Cats pulled out a tight 1-0 win over Saratoga a couple of days later, thanks to a goal by Salfen off a Caro save. Mallison, Stuhl-mueller, Christy Filice, Busi and Proctor all got off strong shots on the Saratoga goal, but only Salfen's could hit the mark.
Los Gatos will take its 4-0 league record to Gunn on Jan. 17 for a 2:45 p.m. game before hosting Homestead on Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. The Titans are 2-0-2 in division play and the Mustangs are 1-2-2 following their 0-0 tie last week.
In boys' action last week, Los Gatos edged Monta Vista 1-0 and nipped Lynbrook 3-2 to improve to 3-0 in the De Anza Division.
Nick Sorich scored on a first-half penalty kick to give the Wildcats the tight 1-0 win over the Matadors.
The Wildcats, 5-4-1 for the year, scored a pair of second-half goals to sneak past Lynbrook 3-2 a couple of days later.
Joel Gremore had a goal and an assist and Grant Kollenborn and Andy Pierce each scored goals to lift the Cats to the tight win.
Kollenborn's first-half goal helped Los Gatos go in at the half locked in a 1-1 tie with the Vikings. Lynbrook scored again in the second half, but Pierce matched that goal and Gremore drilled the game-winner.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, January 17, 1996.
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