APTOS—Aptos High junior Eddie Alvarez has been slowly making a name for himself as one of the premier soccer players in the area.
The Mariners’ superstar forward made a case for himself Tuesday night in a 3-0 shutout win over perennial powerhouse Watsonville High in non-league action.
“Towards the beginning we had a good game plan, we started how we wanted to,” Alvarez said. “We put pressure on them.”
Alvarez recorded a pair of goals and one assist for Aptos, which has beaten Watsonville twice in three years.
Prior to Tuesday night, Aptos coach Roberto Zuniga was just hoping they were focused enough and able to stand up to an opponent that is traditionally a powerhouse.
“Because [Watsonville] lost all their seniors, they brought up a JV team that didn’t lose a game,” he said. “I know they got depth. I think that we’re both trying to solidify our starting 11 [players].”
Alvarez was a freshman when the Mariners beat the Wildcatz for the first time in 30 years after a 4-1 win during the abbreviated 2021 spring season.
On Tuesday, he had the assist on the game’s first goal after a cross pass to his cousin Esteban Garcia, who had a beautiful shot that went over the goalkeeper’s head in the 19th minute.
“Towards the middle of the game we started touching, we had possession of the ball. We were calming it down because it was getting too intense,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez scored the first of his two goals just seconds later after he muscled his way through the defense to steal the ball and tap it in, giving Aptos a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
On the second goal, Alvarez sprinted down the line and finished the play with a left-footed shot that went in between the goalkeeper’s legs.
“The third goal was pretty crucial because it’s Watsonville, you never know,” he said. “They’re such a great organization, such a good team. We’ve played them before and it’s been such a good matchup over the years that I’ve been here.”
Alvarez credits the coaching staff for getting them prepared and praised the team captains for checking in with teammates.
“We get them prepared for games like this,” Alvarez said. “I feel like we need to talk to the team and get them relaxed a bit.”
Aptos has one of the youngest groups in the league. They have just three starting seniors which includes Diego Tiran, Kai Walsh and Nate Dow—who is still settling in after playing football in the fall.
The Mariners are loaded with underclassmen but Zuniga stressed that it’s a talented young group that continues to develop on a daily basis.
Zuniga said they’re slowly building with a squad that features four freshmen and three sophomores including goalkeeper Noah Curran, who had five saves in Tuesday night’s win.
“I think we’re moving, we’re turning in the right direction,” he said.
Aptos is coming off a 7-0 crushing win over Ceiba College Prep in last week’s season opener. They followed up with a statement win against Watsonville and have now outscored opponents 10-0 in two games.
“I think at first we were really hyped that it’s Watsonville,” Zuniga said. “We realized we can actually play toe-to-toe against them.”
The Mariners have been playing with that same confidence since last year after winning the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title.
They finished with a 13-3-3 overall record and went 8-1-1 in league play. It was their first league crown since 2013-14 and the third in the program’s history.
Alvarez, along with fellow team captains Garcia and Dow, said it’s been good getting the younger players together and being able to mesh like a team.
“The role that I have, I have to be a part of that,” he said. “During the practice, make sure that they don’t slack off. Make sure that everybody is all on the same page.”
Zuniga mentioned at times it’s nerve wracking. He said there’s a difference between talented and seasoned players—who know how to use their body, mobility and have a better vision of the field.
“We’re slowly working towards getting to that spot where even the weakest player can be able to be mobile and look for those gaps, those spaces,” he said.
Aptos will begin SCCAL play against Soquel High on Jan. 3. Though it’s still a long way to go, Zuniga knows it’s going to be a challenge.
Especially because every team up and down the league is just as hungry as they are going into the second half of the season.
The Mariners’ skipper hopes to keep the momentum going and to have the players in the right mindset they can beat bigger schools.
“I feel like to a certain extent we have a target on our back, but we have a team that tonight proved that could play against any team in our league and our division,” Zuniga said.
Alvarez is already relishing the chance of possibly winning back-to-back SCCAL titles. He said it’s all about playing with the same confidence and arrogance that’s gotten them to this point.
“But like the coaches tell us, it’s one game at a time,” he said. “Make sure that we gotta keep playing strong, playing hard and not slack off during practice. Just get ready for the next game.”
