View from the Pali, Volume 14: Scoreless Draw for Pali Against Santa Clarita

Jacob Tudela's Pali Blues will find this season a tough nut to crack, as seen by their scoreless draw with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat over the weekend.

“It was a really tough game. It was like a light bulb, on at times, off at times,” a disappointed Tudela told reporters following the contest. “Our players were sloppy. The small stuff wasn’t being done right- the simple passes and simple receiving. In the second half, they got it together; they transitioned well, and played with heart.”

“I would say that first of all we needed to clean it up. A lot of the chances they had in the first half were ones we were creating for them,” said Shaner regarding Pali's performance in the first half.

"We weren’t connecting passes; we weren’t putting them to feet. We just told everyone ‘it’s a new half, new game, it’s our home field, let’s pick it up. Let’s find the energy for 45 minutes and dig deep.’"

Unfortunately for Pali, in spite of regaining their consistency when moving the ball around, the chances they had on goal were either wasted or saved by Blue Heat goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo.

Jacobo's counterpart, Pali goalkeeper Anna Picarelli, made her shares of key stops; the most notable taking place in the 81st minute, when she was able to deny a chance from Santa Clarita's Edite Cristiana Fernandes.

“We had a lot of unforced errors. We need to clean that up, but it’s early in the season and I think it’ll get much better,” said Pali defender Sasha Andrews.

Next up for the Blues is perhaps their toughest ask yet: a June 1 contest with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Kickoff at Pacific Palisades High School's Stadium by the Sea is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.10:00 p.m. ET.

Pali will then host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, June 5. Kickoff at the Stadium by the Sea is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT/6:00 p.m. ET.