Midway through the winter campaign, Aptos remains the cream of the crop in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with a current record of 6-0 in league play.
Meanwhile, standout Bella Hartnett continued her case as the league’s top player with the game’s lone goal in Thursday night’s 1-0 win over Santa Cruz.
The Mariner junior forward has been a scoring machine with a team-leading 17 goals to go along with five assists, according to statistics on the Monterey Bay Preps website.
“In practice, it’s just my coaches really helping me with my game and keeping my shots good,” Hartnett said. “And playing with the team so we can get through balls because I always get through balls, that’s how I get it. It’s not just me, it’s a team effort.”
Hartnett added two more goals in last week’s 3-0 win over Scotts Valley, and recorded a true hat trick in a 6-0 victory over Soquel on Jan. 20.
Teammate senior Alexa Castañeda has also been in the mix for the league’s most valuable player award, tallying seven goals and a team-leading seven assists for the Mariners.
“I think we’re coming out really strong and putting all the stuff we practice in our game and I think it’s showing,” Hartnett said. “We’re undefeated [in league play].”
Other key contributors for Aptos include junior Aubrie Ford with 10 goals and three assists, junior Scarlet Stateler with four goals and sophomore Emilie Santiago with four goals and four assists.
Aptos fifth-year head coach Gina Castañeda is proud of how much the players have progressed to playing as a team, and not individually for themselves.
“I feel right now we’re playing the best soccer,” she said. “We have a really good balance between experienced players and the young players stepping in and working together.”
Castañeda added, “It’s my job as a coach to bring that culture together, and for us to be able to peak at the right time.”
The backfield is led by seniors Maddie Redding, Isabella Schenone, Isabella Doolittle, Anahi Najera, and juniors Mata Overby, Kenzi Culberson, Cassidy Levesque and Emma Garcia.
So far, sophomore goalkeeper Tayanna Bonilla and the defense has recorded six shutouts this season, including four in SCCAL play.
Redding, who is returning from an ACL injury, has tallied just three assists, yet her presence in the middle of the pitch in the No. 6 position is always felt by the opposition.
“[Redding’s] worked so hard, not just to come back and play at the level, but to push herself to the next level,” Castañeda said. “I don’t think that a lot of teams thought that we would be able to fill that position, and she has stepped into that position as a leader. It’s been impressive to see.”
Aptos, which hasn’t lost in 25 straight league matches, is primed to capture its fourth straight SCCAL title.
Yet, bringing home a league crown isn’t the issue for the Mariners.
It’s getting past the opening round of the Central Coast Section playoffs that has been the biggest challenge for them.
“We really want to make it past the first round in CCS, we haven’t done that since I’ve been here,” Hartnett said.
Aptos has seen early exits in the first round eight of the nine past trips to the postseason. Castañeda has suffered four of those losses since taking over the program five years ago.
Castañeda mentioned teams from over the hill tend to play at a slightly higher level than they’re accustomed to, which is why she schedules such a challenging non-league schedule.
“We really have to focus physically, mentally and emotionally and take it one game at a time,” she said.
Aptos will hit the final stretch of the regular season starting at San Lorenzo Valley in Felton on Feb. 3 at 3:30pm.
The Mariners then cap off the season with three consecutive home matches against Scotts Valley (Feb. 5), Scotts Valley (Feb. 10) and Harbor (Feb. 12). Kick off is slated for 7pm for all three games.
“It’s going to be important for the girls to understand that moving forward, at the end of the regular league season, they need to continue to focus on themselves,” Castañeda said. “It’s about how do we improve individually and as a team, and that they grow and they’re able to compete at a higher level.”
Editor’s note: An older version of this story was published in the Jan. 30-Feb. 5 print version of The Pajaronian.
