CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that it had been nearly 40 years since the Aptos High boys’ soccer team last won a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title, which is incorrect. Aptos last won an SCCAL title during the 2013-14 soccer season and it has a total of three league championships.
APTOS—It’s been nearly a decade since the Aptos High boys’ soccer team last won a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title. They’ve been a runner-up a handful of times and they’ve occasionally made an appearance in the Central Coast Section postseason.
However, senior Patrick Mackle helped rewrite the history books Wednesday night by knocking in two first half goals for the Mariners en route to a 3-1 victory against Harbor High.
With the win, Aptos also captured its first league championship for the first time since the 2013-14 season and the program’s third league title. Prior to that, it had been 31 years since the last time the Mariners raised a league banner inside the gym.
“Tonight went exceptionally well for our boys team,” said Aptos coach Roberto Zuniga in a text message. “Our seniors led the way, and our underclassmen responded equally with high intensity, grit and technical ability.”
Prior to this season, the SCCAL had been dominated by Watsonville High starting in the 1970s all the way up to the early 2000s. They left after the 2005-06 season to rejoin the now defunct Monterey Bay League.
Since then, the league winner has been either Harbor, Soquel or Santa Cruz high schools.
That all changed Wednesday night. Mackle scored the game’s first goal in the 13th minute on an assist by Fredys Agbrego.
Six minutes later, Mackle scored for the second time on an assist from Andrew Lopez, which gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Zuniga said the Pirates came out strong in the second half and they were awarded a penalty kick, which made it 2-1 in the 53rd minute.
“The game went up in intensity after that,” he said.
In the 68th minute, Achilles Carrillo crossed a ball to Erick Vasquez, who clocked a half volley to put the ball in the back of the net for the game-sealing score.
Goalie and team Captain Ulises Hernandez had two excellent saves in the SCCAL league-clinching win.
“Our coaching staff is extremely proud of the commitment and work ethic that this group of boys has displayed through this season,” Zuniga said.
The Mariners finished 8-1-1 in league play and they finished the regular season with a 12-3-2 overall record.
Next up, Aptos will await for the CCS seeding meeting on Feb. 17 to know who they’ll match up against.
Pajaro Valley 2, Monterey 1: Andres Rebollar and Luis Velasquez scored for the Grizzlies in their Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division win Feb. 5.
Girls soccer
Aptos 5, Soquel 1: Jazmine Castaneda had three goals and an assist in the Mariners’ SCCAL win Tuesday night.
Gwen Chapman and Ava Hymes also scored for the Mariners. Rowan Bowyer, Malia Kessler, Liz Randolph and Ava Churchill also recorded assists.
Aptos goalie Kylie Nelson made three saves over 65 scoreless minutes in net. Angel Rodriguez played the final 15 minutes and made one save for the Mariners (16-2-1, 7-2-0)
Pajaro Valley 2, Soledad 2: Valeria Acosta and Marizca Rodriguez each had one goal for the Grizzlies to earn a 2-2 draw against Soledad in PCAL Cypress action.
Andrea Munoz had five saves for the Pajaro Valley, which finished with a 6-0-2 record at home and improved to 5-2-2 in league play. Next up, they’ll finish up the regular season at King City on Saturday at 10am.
Girls basketball
Aptos 49, SLV 31: Jaylen Dang had 19 points, seven steals and three rebounds in the Mariners’ SCCAL win against the Cougars in Tuesday’s regular season finale.
Miricole Baity scored nine points for the Mariners (15-8, 6-4), Jasmine Ackerman scored eight points, Erin Schmidt scored seven and Guin Lines added six points.
Aptos 47, Scotts Valley 35: Jaylen Dang scored a team-high 17 points for the Mariners in their win against the Falcons in SCCAL play Feb. 4.
Jasmine Ackerman had a double-double, scoring 14 points and snatching 12 rebounds for Aptos.
Pajaro Valley 65, Pacific Collegiate 25: Junior guard Annel Andrade had 20 points including four 3-pointers for the Grizzlies in their 46-25 win against the Pumas in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play Feb. 9.
Monterey 40, at St. Francis 27: The Sharks lost their PCAL Cypress Division game Monday.
St. Francis (6-10, 3-5) has two home games remaining to close the regular season: Pacific Grove on Wednesday and Carmel on Friday. Both games start at 7 p.m.
Pacific Grove 42, St. Francis 30: Mariah Montalvo scored 19 points in the Sharks’ PCAL Cypress Division loss Feb. 5. Klarisse Dayrit added five points for St. Francis.
Stevenson 59, Watsonville 41: The Pirates went on a 12-0 run to close out the third quarter and never looked back in their win against the Wildcatz in PCAL Mission Division action Feb. 9.
With the loss, Watsonville dropped to 6-3 in league play, while the Pirates are still undefeated at 8-0.
Boys basketball
Aptos 61, SLV 55: Cameron Saldana finished with a game-high 25 points to help the Mariners rally for a win over the Cougars in SCCAL action on Tuesday night.
Aptos trailed 29-24 going into halftime but Saldana scored 22 points in the second half en route to victory. Trevor Brady scored 22 points for the Mariners (20-4, 9-1) and Jack Spinelli scored nine points in their regular season finale.
Alvarez 72, St. Francis 28: Dez Litel scored eight points for the Sharks in their loss to the Eagles in PCAL Mission Division action on Tuesday evening.
Adam Hernandez added six points for the Sharks (6-11, 1-6).
Soledad 48, Watsonville 47: Senior guard Jacob Martinez missed a potential game-tying free throw for the Wildcatz in their narrow loss to the Aztecs in PCAL Santa Lucia action on Feb. 8.
Martinez was at the charity line with 4.6 seconds left in the game but he missed the free throw attempt. Soledad managed to grab the loose ball to run out the clock and hand Watsonville its first loss in league play.
With the loss, the Wildcatz dropped to 9-1 in the league standings and are tied with the Aztecs for first place.
Watsonville (15-7, 9-1) has two games remaining starting with a home game against Marina today at 7pm, followed by a season-finale meeting at Gonzales on Tuesday at 7pm.
Watsonville 46, Marina 33: Richie Ortiz scored 12 points for the Wildcatz in their win against the Mariners in PCAL Santa Lucia action Monday.
Jack Curran number 12 actually assisted the second goal, Lopez was his backup. I have the footage if verification is required