Pali Girls Soccer Kicks Into Finals

Practice doesn't always make perfect, but things like repetition and attention to detail are often factors in close games. That was the case on Tuesday afternoon at Stadium by the Sea, where the Palisades High girls soccer team advanced to the City finals with a 1-0 victory over Sylmar.

scored the only goal in the fifth minute, re-directing a corner kick by into the back of the net on a play both girls were all too familiar with, having prepared for just such a scenario.

"We had practiced it [the dummy corner kick] over and over leading up to the game," said van Daalen Wetters, who leads the Dolphins with 19 goals. "I just broke for the spot to throw the goalie off and Meredith crossed it right where I was breaking. We worked on that a ton so I'm glad it paid off." 

As it had in its two previous playoff games, Palisades made its one-goal lead stick. Try as they might, the third-seeded Spartans (12-3-4) were not able to penetrate the Dolphins' defense, managing only five shots on goal over the last 75 minutes of the contest. Their best chance came on a direct free kick from just outside the penalty area, but the shot hit the crossbar and was cleared away with under two minutes left.

"We've gained confidence playing in this type of game," van Daalen Wetters said. "Against a good team like them you're not going to get a ton of chances so you have to make the most of it when you do. It's the semifinals, so we knew they'd come out hard but we played our game and we won the 50-50 balls today." 

After racking up 79 goals during the regular season, the Dolphins have scored just three in their three playoff games. Of course, that's more than enough for a team that hasn't allowed an opponent to score in 14 games and has given up only four goals all season.

"We have a pretty good defense," first-year coach said. "We don't like getting scored on."

Senior co-captain , who tore her hamstring in the Dolphins' season opener--an injury that caused her to miss much of the season--said the turning point was the team's 3-2 come-from-behind win over San Pedro in a tournament game January 4. 

"That made a huge difference and we refer back to it all the time," said Gaskin, who set the school single-season scoring record with 27 goals last season. "We have so many more options now for scoring and that makes us harder to beat."

The second-seeded Dolphins (22-1-1) will take on top-seeded El Camino Real of Woodland Hills (19-2-3) in the section championship game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at . The Conquistadores beat West Valley League rival Granada Hills, 3-0, in Tuesday's other semifinal.

Saturday's showdown is a rematch of the 2005 final at East LA College, which the Conquistadores won 4-0 for their fifth consecutive City title. Palisades last made a finals appearance in 2007 when it beat Western League rival University 2-1 to win the Invitational division.