The Palo Alto High School boys lacrosse team ended its season Saturday with a championship victory over Los Gatos High School in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) Final.

After suffering several injuries at the beginning of the season, the Vikings received another blow when junior faceoff midfielder Chuck Stephenson broke his collarbone. However, junior Will Dougall stepped up to the spotlight and gave the team several solid performances.The boys closed out the regular season with a convincing win over Mountain View High School on senior night, carrying their winning streak into the playoffs. They finished their regular season with a 10-2 league record.

The Vikings opened the playoffs with a close 9-8 win in a rematch against Mountain View. It was a much tougher game than the Vikings had anticipated after the blowout victory, but a gritty fight from the boys led to the clutch win. Once again, the Vikings’ offensive attack was led by attackmen Matt Seligson and Cole Tierney, who each tallied several goals.

The team faced off against Los Gatos High School in the league championships.

After recording a 1-1 record against Los Gatos in games earlier in the season, the boys handily beat Los Gatos 9-5, finishing the season on the highest of notes.

The Vikings came out strong with four unanswered goals to open the game. From there on out it was smooth sailing, as junior goalie Quintin Valenti came up with an impressive 15 saves on 20 shots.

The key to the Vikings’ success against Los Gatos in this third matchup of the season was that the Vikings played stellar defense, and shut down Los Gatos’ stars. Additionally, the offense for the Viking swas controlled, and the ball was kept away from Los Gatos.

Senior captain Zach Levitan was really impressed with the team’s results at the end of the season.

“We struggled through injuries early in the season, but we really came together as a team after spring break,” Levitan said. “From that point on, we were unbeatable.”