GIRLS' SOCCER NOTEBOOK: HIGHLAND GIRLS QUIET PALMDALE.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Highland High of Palmdale girls' soccer team enjoyed every minute of exacting it against host Palmdale on a chilly Tuesday night.

Fueled by derogatory remarks made by Palmdale about members of the team and, in some cases, their families, on an Internet message board, Highland did its talking on the field with a 3-0 victory, moving the Bulldogs closer to their first Golden League title since 1997.

``You could see there was steam coming out of their ears, they were so fired up,'' said Highland coach Juan Paolo. ``But they were also relaxed and confident at the same time. Just seeing the looks on their faces, I knew they were going to take care of business.''

The rivalry between Highland (20-2-1, 10-1 entering Thursday's game against Lancaster) and the league's other two playoff qualifiers, Palmdale (10-7-5, 6-4-1 entering Thursday) and Quartz Hill (10-8-2, 9-1-1 entering Thursday), escalated in the second round of play when Paolo - the head assigner for club soccer officials in the Antelope Valley - was accused of having unfair influence over the outcomes of high school games because of his relationship with certain officials.

Paolo denied the charges, saying he knew few high school officials assigned to do Golden League games.

Calls were made and e-mails were sent to Highland's administration regarding the accusations. Paolo was also confronted by a handful of accusers at his own games, in addition to other games he attended involving league teams. Eventually the verbal attacks shifted away from Paolo himself and onto his players, mostly on a message board.

Although disappointed and frustrated by the comments, Paolo kept his team focused on its primary goal, ending Quartz Hill's run of seven consecutive titles.

``You don't want to do all the work to get to this point and then lose your composure and run the risk of losing to Palmdale, or even Lancaster,'' Paolo said. ``But I'm really happy with the way they responded and I'm proud of the job they did on the field. Once we got that first goal (five minutes in) against Palmdale, it was like 'Oh wow, this is going to be a good night.' ''

The victory was bittersweet for the Bulldogs. Even though they did it in front of the Quartz Hill players, who were watching from the bleachers, and with sophomore Janet Mendez back in the lineup after she returned to the team following her training with the Mexico's women's national team, they also did it without senior captain Salma Perez.

The midfielder was on the receiving end of a hard foul by a Palmdale player early in the game and didn't return. Paolo said he was going to hold Perez out of Thursday's game against visiting Lancaster for precautionary reasons after she suffered a deep bruise above her right knee.

--Zeroes are No. 1 priority: The Royal High of Simi Valley girls' soccer team has adopted the nickname ``No Goal Patrol'' because of its defensive-minded approach on its run to a potential Marmonte League title. But the Highlanders might have to relinquish that title to Highland, which surpassed Valencia this week as the region's leader with 15 shutouts.

Behind the play of goalkeepers Kellie Drenner and Vanessa Fulladosa, the Bulldogs have eight shutouts in Golden League play and have surrendered six goals, including four to Quartz Hill in the team's first meeting Jan. 6. Highland rebounded to beat the Rebels 1-0 on Jan. 29.

Valencia entered Thursday's regular-season finale with seven shutouts in Foothill League play and 13 overall.

Although Quartz Hill doesn't have as many overall shutouts as Highland or Valencia, the Rebels have dominated on defense in league play. Junior goalkeeper Alicia Lugo has eight shutouts in league and has given up four goals entering Thursday's regular-season finale at Antelope Valley. Two of those four goals came on Highland penalty kicks.

--The goal is goals: A tie or a win would have given Highland at least a share of its first league title since 1997. But the Bulldogs also entered Thursday's game against Lancaster seeking one more goal: to be the league's highest-scoring team.

Entering its game against Antelope Valley, Quartz Hill had 42 goals to Highland's 38. The Rebels beat Antelope Valley in their first meeting 7-0 and Highland beat Lancaster in its first showdown 3-0.