SANTA CRUZ—Aptos High’s Fredys Abrego finished with one goal and one assist for the Mariners boys’ soccer team in a 3-0 win against Harbor High in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action on Thursday.
Abrego scored in the 58th minute and he followed up with a corner kick pass to Nate Dow, who scored in compensation time.
Diego Tiran gave Aptos an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the 23rd minute. Achilles Carrillo was credited with the assist.
Goalie Orlando Aguilar, who started in place of injured Ulises Hernandez, had three saves.
Zuniga commended freshman Nami Banks for his great performance on the pitch playing in the No. 6 position as the defensive center midfielder.
“[Banks] is only a freshman but his attitude was that of a seasoned player,” Zuniga said. “He held his ground and delivered a talented performance as holding midfielder.”
Aptos played aggressively from the get-go, winning several of the split 50-50 balls and changing the direction of play constantly.
Zuniga said the players created opportunities and delivered a victory over the defending Central Coast Section Division IV champion on Harbor’s home field.
“A big win that delivered a message to the entire SCCAL that Aptos will be up for a tough battle every time the boys enter the pitch,” he said.
The Mariners (6-3-1, 1-1) play at Santa Cruz in league play on Jan. 11 at 7pm.
Watsonville 6, Pajaro Valley 0: Senior Mateo Arias scored twice for the Wildcatz in their win against the crosstown rival Grizzlies in their non-league game Friday.
Oscar Herrera, Saul Valencia, Sergio Esteves and Luis Velasco-Vasquez also scored for the Wildcatz.
Goalie Edgar Angel made four saves in the shutout for the Wildcatz (5-3-2), who open Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division play at North Salinas on Tuesday at 5:45pm.
Girls soccer
Aptos 10, Harbor 0: Senior Jazmine Castañeda finished with three goals and three assists for the Mariners in Thursday’s crushing win over the Pirates in SCCAL play.
Gwen Chapman and Ella Shoemaker scored twice, and Ava Churchill, Ava Hymes and Anahi Macias also scored for Aptos.
Churchill also recorded a pair of assists. Julianne Houser, Angelique Nunez and Shoemaker each had an assist.
Macias and Shoemaker were both called up from the JV team after the varsity squad was short three starters. The Mariners (10-0-1, 1-0-1) play at Santa Cruz on Tuesday at 7pm.
Boys basketball
St. Francis 58, Seaside 57: Junior Ibarra led the Sharks in scoring with 18 points in a narrow win over the Spartans in non-league play Friday evening.
Christian Magana scored 13 points, while Dez Litel added 7 points for St. Francis, which has won two-straight games.
Miles Guardino, Nash Horton and Diego Rameriz each scored six points for the Sharks (5-5), who play at Harbor today at 2:30pm.
St. Francis 57, Rancho San Juan 40: Nash Horton scored 20 points for the Sharks in their non-league win over the Trailblazers on Wednesday night.
Junior Ibarra scored nine points for the Sharks (4-5), Miles Guardino scored seven points, Kyle Dyer scored six and Christian Magana added five points.
St. Francis plays at Seaside on Friday night at 7pm and at Harbor on Saturday at 2:30pm.
Girls basketball
Aptos 59, Harbor 8: Miricole Baity finished with a game-high 21 points in the Mariners’ SCCAL win Friday.
Jaylen Dang scored 16 points for the Mariners and teammate Grace Parry had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Aptos (10-5, 1-1) plays at Santa Cruz on Tuesday at 6pm.
Pajaro Valley 56, Gonzales 46: The Grizzlies showed little signs of rust in their win over Gonzales High in the teams’ first PCAL Santa Lucia game of the season.
Senior small forward Erika Martinez added 14 points for the Grizzlies, who had their league opener against King City on Tuesday postponed due to Covid-19 protocols.
Angel Martinez finished with a game-high 29 points for Spartans (0-3, 0-1), who also had their league opener against Santa Catalina School postponed.
Pajaro Valley (5-5, 1-0) plays at Santa Catalina (2-1, 0-1) on Tuesday at 7pm.
San Benito 48, Watsonville 39: Kaylani Trout-Lacy finished with a team-high 20 points for the Wildcatz in their non-league loss to the Haybalers on Friday night.
Watsonville (5-5) plays at North Monterey County in the teams’ PCAL Mission Division opener on Monday at 7pm.
Watsonville, North Salinas (cancelled): The Wildcatz opted not to play their non-league game against the Vikings on Wednesday due to Covid-19 protocols.
