After an impressive Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championship run, Aptos earned the top seed in this year’s Central Coast Section Division II playoffs.
The Mariners (15-2-1)—winners of five straight—will host No. 8 Homestead (8-7-4) in the teams’ quarterfinals match on Saturday at 11am.
“The girls, this whole season by far, have done an amazing job at staying composed and working towards this goal,” Aptos head coach Gina Castañeda said. “I feel we’re rewarded for that right now and being placed as the first seed. With that said though, there’s a lot of strong teams in Division II. We do have our work cut out for us.”
No. 4 Valley Christian (10-5-5) of the West Catholic Athletic League will host No. 5 Branham (12-4-4) of the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division.
Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division champion Salinas is the No. 2 seed Salinas (16-1-2) and will play against West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division champion No. 7 Crystal Springs (14-2-3).
On the other side is No. 6 Sacred Heart Cathedral (9-5-5)—fourth place finisher in the WCAL—at No. 3 Aragon (11-3-4), which placed third in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division.
Aptos will compete against a Homestead squad that was runner-up in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division behind league champion Los Gatos, which earned the No. 4 seed in the D-I playoffs.
The Mariners suffered a 3-1 loss to this same Los Gatos team on Dec. 19.
And heartbreak has been the mantra for the Mariners these past five postseason appearances with early exits in the quarterfinals. Last year, they lost to Leland in a penalty kick shootout.
“Anahi [Macias], being one of those captains, has talked to the girls all season about her goal, what the team can accomplish,” Castañeda said. “But also bringing up those heartbreaks and saying to them, ‘I don’t want to relive that again.’
Aptos senior Anahi Macias along with co-captain junior Alexa Castañeda and sophomore Isabella Hartnett are without a doubt front-runners for the SCCAL’s top honors this season.
Hartnett currently leads the league with 19 goals and has three assists, while Castañeda has a team-best 10 assists to go along with 12 goals.
Macias has five goals and one assist, but her pure presence is what makes a difference. The SCCAL’s reigning Defender of the Year made the switch to midfielder, and has taken more command of the team on and off the pitch.
Sophomore Scarlet Stateler has 16 goals and 10 assists for Aptos, and freshman Emilie Santiago has contributed nine goals and four assists. Teammate freshman Gigi Zúñiga has seven goals and nine assists, while junior goalkeeper Evelyn Pini and the rest of Aptos’ defense has recorded 11 shutouts this season.
“We have done everything as coaches to get them to where they’re at when you look at tactical, strategy and fitness,” Castañeda said. “Now it’s really about them and their self confidence, and their self worth and their belief in themselves. If they can stay focused emotionally and mentally, they can win CCS.”
PCAL Mission Division champion Pajaro Valley (17-1-2) earned the No. 8 seed in the Division III playoffs. They are scheduled to play at top seeded Menlo-Atherton (9-6-3)—runner-up in the PAL Bay Division—on Friday at 5pm.
Leading the way for the Grizzlies is senior sensation Valeria Acosta, who has a whopping 46 goals to go along with five assists this season. Teammate junior Scarlet Gomez has a team-best 28 assists and six goals, while senior Leslie Carrisoza has eight assists and six goals.
The rest of the D-III field includes No. 5 Carlmont (14-2-2) at No. 4 Menlo (13-4-3), No. 7 Soledad (17-2-1) at No. 2 Palo Alto (6-6-3), and No. 6 Evergreen Valley at No. 3 Mountain View (10-7-2).
Boys soccer
SCCAL champion Aptos (14-4-1) is the top seed in the Division III playoffs and will host No. 8 Los Gatos (8-8-2) on Saturday at 1pm.
Los Gatos—third place finishers in the SCVAL De Anza Division—capped off the league and regular season with a 3-0 win over Fremont on Wednesday.
Aptos is coming off a win following a 3-0 victory over Soquel in the teams’ league and regular season finale Wednesday night.
The other side of the bracket includes a matchup between No. 5 Willow Glen (9-6-5) at No. 4 Santa Clara (10-8-2). SCCAL rival and No. 3 seed Harbor (15-3-2) hosts No. 6 Sacred Heart Prep (13-2-5), while No. 2 Aragon (11-5-2) hosts No. 7 Alisal (7-6-6).
CCS Soccer Playoffs
Girls
Division II: No. 1 Aptos (15-2-1) vs. No. 8 Homestead (8-7-4), Saturday at 11am
Division III: No. 8 Pajaro Valley (17-1-2) at No. 1 Menlo-Atherton (9-6-3), Saturday at 5pm
Boys
Division III: No. 1 Aptos (14-4-1) vs. No. 8 Los Gatos (8-8-2), Saturday at 1pm
