APTOS — The Aptos High Mariners believe this is the year they’ll finally make some noise in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Thursday solidified their beliefs.
Senior midfielder Monserrat Hernandez Marquez scored and made an assist, junior keeper Caroline Miller recorded a handful of crucial saves and the Mariners shut out juggernaut St. Francis High of Mountain View, 3-0, in a statement preseason victory.
Junior forward Haley Velduis put Aptos (1-0-1) in front off Hernandez Marquez’s assist in the 11th, senior defender Grace Rothman made it 2-0 in the 24th with a free kick from 30 yards away and Hernandez Marquez drew “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd with her scoring strike in the 53rd.
Head coach Jessica Perkin said she believes it’s the Mariners’ first-ever win over the Lancers (0-1), who have won 10 CCS championships, finished runner-up six times and last year were ranked 40th in the country.
“We haven’t been able to beat them the last three times so this feels great,” Hernandez Marquez said. “It’s a great start to our season.”
Great might be an understatement.
The historic victory not only gave the team a boost of confidence but it also sends a message to the rest of the CCS that the Mariners, who have never won a section title, could be a real threat come playoff time.
They’ll have another opportunity to prove themselves on Tuesday when Mountain View High comes to town at 7 p.m. The Spartans last year finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation after eliminating the Mariners from the postseason with a 5-0 victory and winning the CCS Open Division championship.
“Last year, that was a hard loss for all of us but I think it kind of motivated everyone to want to be better next year, get farther, to beat that team,” Rothman said. “Even though it was a bad loss, we gained so much from that game.”
The Mariners failed to find pay dirt against Woodside High — last year’s CCS Division I champ and the Open Division champ the season before — on Tuesday in a scoreless tie to open the season but that was not a problem on Thursday.
With its beautiful touch-touch offensive attack led by Hernandez Marquez and fellow senior Paige Dueck, Aptos controlled the action for the majority of the night and produced several promising scoring opportunities throughout. But it wasn’t until Hernandez Marquez dribbled through a pair of defenders up the baseline toward the goal in the 11th minute and dished to a wide-open Velduis for a score.
Rothman’s score gave the Mariners some breathing room before the half, Hernandez Marquez provided some late fireworks and the defense did the rest.
St. Francis had seven shots on goal but only three made Miller break a sweat, as the rest came from distance thanks to the Aptos defense cracking down on the Lancers’ usually smooth attack.
Rothman, senior Mary McGinn and sophomore Brynn Mitchell filled the passing lanes and kept the ball at the feet of the Mariners, who also featured seniors Marylu Escutia, Maya Pruett and Sophia Audisio up top.
Tuesday’s upcoming rematch with Mountain View is just one game of an incredibly tough preseason that also features, CCS Division II champion Presentation and runner-up Sobrato High.
Perkin said the top-notch competition would ultimately pay off when the Mariners’ begin their run toward a fifth straight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title in January.
“When we were putting the schedule together this year people were like, ‘woah, you’re throwing them into the fire this year,’” Perkin said. “That was the plan. It’s a hard league and it’ll be one game at a time and it’s going to be a battle.”
