Just when it appeared the Palisades High boys varsity soccer squad would salvage a draw in Wednesday afternoon’s season opener against Harvard-Westlake, the Dolphins allowed a goal with six minutes left and lost 2-1 at Stadium by the Sea.
Midfielder Barron Chavez scored in the 68th minute to tie the game 1-1.
“We only had three shots all game,” Palisades Coach Dave Suarez said. “For the most part we played well defensively but we had a couple of breakdowns that cost us. They didn’t have many chances either but they played harder than we did.”
Goalkeeper Rigo Galvez made six saves for the Dolphins, including a diving stop on a whizzing drive from just inside the 18-yard box midway through the first half.
Senior Henry Quilici scored the winning goal for the Wolverines on a rebound off a direct free kick from 23 yards out after Galvez saved the initial shot. Cole Fletcher headed in a corner kick to give Harvard-Westlake a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
Palisades was shut out by Malibu 3-0 in last season’s opener but went on to win the Western League and advanced to the City semifinals where it lost in a shootout to Bell, finishing 11-4-2.
“Teams with fast forwards will give us some fits, but if you outwork your opponent you’ll usually get rewarded,” said Suarez, whose team has a week to prepare for next Wednesday’s first league game at Venice. “They’re good. Our midfield ended up moving a lot and we had the ball in their end of the field quite a bit, we just didn’t take enough shots.”
The Dolphins’ junior varsity squad defeated Harvard-Westlake 2-0, scoring once in each half.
In the program’s annual alumni game the day before, Palisades lost 2-1. Joob Sanchez scored for the varsity and Tyler Newman (who graduated in the spring) and Mark Hikin tallying for the alumni.
— Steve Galluzzo
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
