APTOS — “Special.”
The word kept flying out of the Aptos High Mariners’ mouths as they exited Trevin Dilfer Field.
“This definitely feels special,” said senior midfielder Monserrat Hernandez Marquez.
Uttered sophomore defender Brynn Mitchell: “This team is something else. It’s special.”
Added head coach Jessica Perkin: “It’s different. There’s something special here.”
Aptos got goals from three players and its defense posted its fourth straight shutout to cruise to its fifth straight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championship with a 3-0 win over Scotts Valley High on Thursday night.
The end result was the same as the last four years, but the journey to it was a bit different.
The Mariners (11-3-2, 9-1) suffered their first league loss in three years in early January, but rebounded with eight straight victories, including Thursday night’s dominant showing, which was capped off with a dynamite strike off the left foot of Hernandez Marquez in the 76th minute.
“We just focused on our goals,” said Hernandez Marquez, the league’s reigning M.V.P. and a future Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustang. “We made this goal since the beginning of the season, and we wanted to win league pretty bad, so we knew we had to step up our game and we did.”
The win not only added another league champion banner to the Mariners’ collection, but guaranteed them a spot in the prestigious but ruthless Open Division when the Central Coast Section playoffs begin in two weeks.
It will be the Mariners’ third straight season in the Open. Last season, they lost 5-0 in the quarterfinal round to the eventual champion, Mountain View High.
“That was definitely a huge challenge last year, I remember the teams were always one step ahead, moving the ball quickly — it’s just a different level,” Mitchell said. “But I feel like we can do a little better this year. I think our team is really strong. I think we’re going to get a little farther this year.”
The challenge will be big in the Open, but the reward is also grand. The four semifinalists of the division will move on to the inaugural California Interscholastic Federation Northern California tournament.
With a trio of players already committed to NCAA Division I programs — senior Paige Dueck (Santa Clara), junior Olivia Meier (Binghamton) and Hernandez Marquez — and a handful of other players with next-level potential, Aptos is eager to test its stuff against the best of the section.
“I try not to look too far forward, but I’m so excited to be back in Open with this amazingly talented group who I love,” Perkin said. “This (championship) is still sinking in, but I’m definitely excited for the girls achieving their goal. Achieving this goal gives us the opportunity to achieve the next goal, which is ‘let’s get back to that Open and win it.’”
Junior forward Haley Veldhuis put Aptos in front during the 6th minute by cleaning up a rebound off a blistering shot from Dueck, and two minutes into the second half senior forward Maya Pruett made it 2-0 with a shot from point-blank range.
Hernandez Marquez wowed the crowd with her 16th goal of the season by juking a Scotts Valley (8-5-3, 5-2-2) defender and firing in a laser from 26 yards away with her off foot.
“It felt very good,” Hernandez Marquez said. “I just said, ‘I hope this goes in.’”
It was just one of several highlights in Aptos’ seemingly endless attack on the Scotts Valley goal.
The Mariners finished with 10 shots on goal and seven corner kicks.
The Falcons, who could have fought their way back into the title hunt with a victory, had only one shot on goal on a free kick from 30 yards out, but junior keeper Caroline Miller came to the rescue with a diving save through traffic.
The Aptos defense, which again was without senior starter Mary McGinn but had senior Marylu Escutia fill in nicely, did the rest.
“This year’s (championship) was definitely way more of a fight,” Mitchell said. “We had to push through a little more with the loss against Soquel, but I’m glad that we pushed through it. We got past that one game and moved on.”
Even though it has the title outright, Aptos isn’t done with its regular season just yet.
The Mariners travel to Watsonville to play St. Francis High on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and finish off their league season at home against Santa Cruz High two days later.
