Aptos High’s boys’ soccer team suffered its first defeat in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play following a 2-1 loss to Santa Cruz High on Wednesday night.
Haziel Parra scored the lone goal for the Mariners in the 32nd minute. The assist was credited to Josiah Siqueiros, while senior goalkeeper Noah Curran had three saves.
Aptos head coach Roberto Zuñiga said they continued to battle by creating opportunities up until the final minute. Yet, they found it hard to find the net for a second time in the evening.
With the loss, the Mariners dropped to 1-1 in the league standings.
“The boys were a little upset but I’m like ‘Guys, it’s one game’. We got the whole season in front of us,” he said. “I told them that we still need a little bit of ironing out the pieces so that everybody meshes together and works a little cleaner on the pitch. Other than that I think we did great. We had a lot of precision on the ball, it just wasn’t our night.”
Aptos had nine corner kicks and could have potentially had at least one goal but the shots were not on target, Zuñiga said. On the other end, Curran conceded a pair of goals late in the second half after having the lead for most of the contest.
Stefan Ceisiolkiewicz notched the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute shortly after Desmond Boutelle tied the match just 10 minutes prior.
“We got caught sleeping at the back for some reason,” Zuñiga said about the game-tying goal by Boutelle. “We just kind of stopped. I turned, the ball was kind of just rolling. I thought it was gonna go out myself, maybe that’s what they thought. And it ended up at the back of the net, somehow on a diagonal.”
Zuñiga praised Santa Cruz goalkeeper Stephen Yee, who had eight saves, for having a great game in front of the net.
“We took two really good set pieces and boy, the keeper was on point last night. It was everything for him,” Zuñiga said.
Aptos (6-4-1, 1-1) plays at Harbor (10-1-1, 2-0) on Friday at 3:30pm.
“I expect them to be playing quite fast, and physically,” Zuñiga said. “They usually have a tendency to play long ball, more European style type of deal, and we’re more touch and go and kind of build from the back. Two different styles but I expect a strong fright from both teams.”
At Watsonville 1, Pajaro Valley 1: A pair of cross-town rivals in the Wildcatz and Grizzlies battled their way to a draw in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division action Tuesday evening.
Anthony Guido put the ‘Catz ahead early with a goal in the 7th minute. And just before halftime, Jesus Segura tied the score at 1-all with a goal for the Grizzlies in the 35th.
Senior goalkeeper Luis Tellez Mejia had 10 saves for Pajaro Valley, while junior Adrian Fernandez had six stops in front of the net for Watsonville.
Watsonville (3-2-6, 2-0-2) plays at Stevenson (3-6-3, 1-2-2) on Thursday at 3:45pm. Pajaro Valley (0-7-5, 0-2-4) hosts Rancho San Juan (3-7-1, 0-3-1) on Jan. 27 at 3pm.
Girls soccer
Aptos 6, Soquel 0: Sophomore Scarlet Stateler had three assists and one goal in the Mariners’ shutout win over the Knights in SCCAL play Tuesday.
Sophomore Isabella Hartnett had a pair of goals, giving her a total of 14 on the season. Senior Anahi Macias and sophomore Alexa Castañeda each had one goal, while Emily Santiago had one goal and one assist for Aptos.
Bella Doolittle had one assist, while goalkeeper Evelyn Pini made four saves for the Mariners (6-3, 3-0), who play at Santa Cruz on Thursday at 7pm.
Girls basketball
Aptos 47, at Soquel 32: Junior Abby Sherwood had a team-best 16 points and seven rebounds in the Mariners’ victory over the Knights in SCCAL action Tuesday.
Fellow teammate senior Berkeley Ashby had 13 points, six rebounds and four steals, while sophomore guard Emi Gansaver-Piltcher had six steals and eight assists for Aptos (10-7, 2-1), which hosts Santa Cruz (7-9, 2-1) on Thursday at 5:30pm.
Aptos 50, at San Lorenzo Valley 27: Senior Berkeley Ashby led the way with 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals in the Mariners’ win over the Cougars in SCCAL play Jan. 17.
Eliya Chavez hit three 3-pointers for nine points and junior Abby Sherwood had a strong inside game with nine points and six rebounds.
At Watsonville 65, Monterey 35: Freshman Isabella Alvarez had a team-best 19 points and six steals in the Wildcat’s win over the Toreadores in PCAL Gabilan Division action Wednesday evening.
Fellow teammate junior Stephanie Martinez had 18 points, six steals and four rebounds, and senior Fernanda Lazo contributed 10 points and three boards. Watsonville (14-3, 4-1) plays at Alisal (10-5, 2-2) on Friday at 7pm.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit scores and highlights to jr****@we*****.com. Follow sports editor Juan Reyes (@jmreyes831) on Twitter for scores and news updates.
