Aptos High boys soccer coach Roberto Zuñiga has a banner hanging in his office to commemorate a league championship for the 2021-22 season.
It’s a reminder of how they were snubbed from bringing home a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown all because of a mishap that was caught shortly after the regular season finale.
The Mariners had their moment of redemption this week following a 4-0 league win over Scotts Valley High on Senior Night for Aptos on Feb. 12.
“Winning the title outright tonight was full of emotions,” said Zuñiga after Monday night’s game. “Being one of the top spots in league for the fourth year in a row is amazing. The program at Aptos High is making its mark in school history, and that’s what the boys on this team will remember the most.
“The tough workouts, the pain, the laughter, the competition and most importantly, the friendships they built along the way.”
Zuñiga said they dominated the Falcons from the get-go and never let up knowing what was at stake.
The last time Aptos won an SCCAL title was in 2013-14 when it finished with an 8-2-2 record in league play.
After nearly a decade, the Mariners finished with the league’s best record in 2021-22 for their first championship in eight years. Or so they thought.
Instead, they were forced to hand it over to Soquel High due to a technicality during the season.
Harbor High competed in a pair of games with an ineligible player who played on both club and high school teams at the same time, which is not permitted per Central Coast Section bylaws.
Both of those games were against Soquel, which lost to the Pirates on both occasions.
Harbor had to forfeit those two games, and consequently Soquel pulled away with one extra win over the Mariners for the league crown.
In 2022-23, Aptos was on the verge of at least sharing the SCCAL title but wound up losing twice to defending league champion Harbor.
The Mariners got over the hump this season by beating the Pirates, 2-0, in the teams’ first meeting, and then a 2-2 tie in their most recent match Feb. 9.
Senior forward Eddie Alvarez notched the game-tying score late in the second half of last week’s game against Harbor.
“It was an intense battle,” he said. “Harbor is a really good opponent. I’m glad that we tied.”
Andrew Lopez-Rameño gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead going into halftime, but the Pirates were awarded two penalty kicks in the second half. Brandon Jimenez cashed in on both opportunities that put Harbor ahead at 2-1.
At that point, Alvarez said they felt a sense of urgency after trailing for the first time since losing to Soquel on Jan. 17.
“We’re gonna take in mind that it’s not done until the last whistle is blown,” Alvarez said. “We need to fight hard, we need to stay urgent and we need to put goals in as soon as we can.”
The Mariners bounced back in Monday’s game by making great combination plays and creating several scoring opportunities against Scotts Valley.
Alvarez got things started in the 13th minute with a goal that was assisted by senior Kaleb Plascencia.
Plascencia added a score of his own in the 42nd. The assist was credited to Damian Garcia.
“It feels great to not only win it once but twice, especially with this special group of players,” said Plascencia about capturing the SCCAL title. “We put in a lot of hard work and dedication and we really deserved this title,”
Luve Granstrom found Lopez-Rameño for a goal in the 57th, and Ulises Valdez assisted Esteban Garcia to cap off the scoring in the 69th minute.
Granstom said it feels great to win a league championship, especially with all the hard work they’ve been putting in. Next up, the Central Coast Section postseason.
“We definitely deserved it, now we just need that CCS ring,” he said.
Esteban Garcia added it meant a lot not just because they won a league title but because of all the memories they made along the way.
“And all the amazing talent and hard working guys we have on this team. I’m just so proud how far we have come and shown people that Aptos is a school to not be taken lightly because we have proven that we are a talented team,” he said.
Sophomore goalkeeper Noah Curran recorded his 10th cleansheet of the season following a 5-0 win over SLV on Wednesday. He said winning the SCCAL title means being a part of the program’s history and growing the legacy of great Aptos soccer teams from the past.
Senior and team captain Nami Banks said it was great capturing the league crown but he also feels the job’s not finished.
“We still have CCS on the way and I am still waiting for that ring,” said Banks, who also wants to add some new bling to his collection of accolades.
The CCS seeding meeting takes place Thursday at noon. In the meantime, Zuñiga will keep the Mariners prepared until Saturday’s quarterfinals round.
“Like I told them, we’ll keep riding the wave until the last game,” he said.
Monterey 6, St. Francis 0: The Sharks’ season comes to an end following a loss to the Toreadores in Tuesday afternoon’s CCS play-in game for a right to extend their season into the postseason.
St. Francis finished with a 10-5-1 overall record and captured the Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division crown with a 9-2-1 record in league play.
Sharks head coach Valentin Barrelleza said it was tough having to face a team that competes two divisions higher than them.
Monterey (14-5-2, 7-4-1) tied for second in the PCAL Mission Division, which is the second highest tier of the five tiers within the league. Barrelleza—a former assistant coach at Watsonville High—knew what level of competition to expect going into Tuesday’s match with the Toreadores.
“It’s tough, but it was a great run,” Barrelleza said.
St. Francis allowed five goals in the first half but Barrelleza said the players were proud of holding them to just one score the rest of the way.
“That right there tells you the type of mentality these kids have,” he said.
Girls soccer
Pajaro Valley 5, Stevenson 3: Valeria Acosta scored four goals to help lift the Grizzlies past the Pirates in Tuesday afternoon’s CCS play-in game.
Leslie Carrisoza added one goal for Pajaro Valley, which earned a playoff berth with the win.
The Grizzlies (9-5-3, 8-1-3) will now wait for Thursday’s seeding meeting to find out who and where they’ll be playing in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Aptos 1, Harbor 1: Ella Shoemaker’s goal in the 17th minute helped the Mariners earn a tie against the Pirates in SCCAL action on Feb. 8.
Shoemaker scored off the assist from Isabella Hartnett. Harbor scored in the 84th minute to tie the score at 1-all.
The Mariners still captured back-to-back SCCAL titles and finished unbeaten in league play with a 9-0-1 record this season.
Aptos 4, Santa Cruz 1: Alexa Castañeda and Isabella Hartnett each notched a pair of goals for the Mariners in a league win over the Cardinals on Feb. 6.
Scarlet Stateler was credited with a pair of assists and fellow teammate Ella Shoemaker had one assist.
Aptos defender Izzie Schenone made a dynamic defensive save in the 19th minute to take away a scoring opportunity from Santa Cruz. Goalkeeper Alessandra Zuñiga made a pair of saves for the Mariners.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit scores and highlights to jr****@pa********.com. Follow sports editor Juan Reyes (@jmreyes831) on Twitter for scores and news updates.
