Vikings girls soccer dominates scoreless Falcons

Emily DiSilverio, 22, scores a header off a cornerkick during the second half of a girls soccer match between Valencia High School and Palmdale High School at Valencia, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 14, 2021. DiSilverio gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead. Chris Torres/The Signal
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Valencia girls soccer (1-1-2) dominated Palmdale High School (4-1) on Monday, winning 2-0 in a home nonleague matchup.  

Jackie Victorio set the Vikings up for success early on with a goal 12 minutes into the first half of the game. Emily DiSilverio would make a header 18 minutes into the second half.  

DiSilverio made a goal in a similar spot in a previous game, and Victorio was the playmaker who set up DiSilverio for the header. 

“I know where Jackie’s gonna play, she’s really good at putting in the headers and she’s the one that played it in,” DiSilverio said. “I just tried to stay calm, keep eye contact with the ball and it worked out.” 

The Falcons remained scoreless and play in a defensive posture the rest of the match. The Vikings rotated in their backups and give all players time on the field, according to head coach Brian Miller. 

“Both our teams did excellently well,” Miller said. “So I was glad to be able to give them both the opportunity.” 

Miller said the Falcons were “parking the bus,” which describes a team sitting behind the ball to block the goal, making it difficult to score a goal for the Vikings.  

“So they parked the bus and we’ve got to learn how to play against teams that do that,” Miller said. 

From the onset of the game, the Vikings controlled the tempo and speed of the game. With the ball going over the goalie post, Maddison Ochoa would have a high goal kick but barely missed. Amelia Haydamack also had a close opportunity but was stopped by the Falcons goalie. 

Miller said that although Palmdale has a better record than Valencia, the teams in the Foothill League are tougher competition, allowing teams to be competitive against nonleague teams.  

“I think that the Foothill league that we play in is a very tough league,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of good teams and it’s great competition.” 

The Vikings plan to look at the film and learn how to improve against a team with a defensive posture, according to Miller. 

“I think we played well today,” Miller said. “We passed the ball, defended well and I think we’ve got to learn how to play against teams that defend with 11 players.” 

DiSilverio said the Foothill League is competitive, and although the team won against Palmdale, they will take the win as a learning opportunity to maintain competitiveness in a difficult league. 

“I think we’re just trying to keep our speed of play up, and our goal is to make playoffs,” she said. 

In a road nonleague game, the Vikings look to continue their offensive dominance against the Simi Valley Pioneers on Friday. 

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