The path to a league championship just became a lot smoother for Pajaro Valley’s girls’ soccer team following a 3-1 win over Alisal in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division action Monday afternoon.
Juniors Rocio Acosta and Arianna Ornales-Flores each had one goal, while senior Valeria Acosta notched her 41st goal of the season for the Grizzlies. Teammate junior Scarlet Gomez recorded one assist, giving her 24 on the season.
Pajaro Valley improved to 8-0-1 in league play this season, and has a comfortable lead in the Mission Division standings over North Monterey County (12-2-3, 4-1-3) and Carmel (4-5-5, 3-1-3).
Pajaro Valley (16-1-1) has three games remaining in the regular season, starting at Carmel on Wednesday. Then it’s back-to-back games at home against Pacific Collegiate (5-4-1, 3-3-1) on Friday, and North Salinas (1-13-1, 0-8-1) on Feb. 13. All three games are slated to kick off at 3:30pm.
At St. Francis 2, Marina 1: Alyssandra Peterson and Peyton Orradre each had one goal to help lift the Sharks past the Mariners in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play.
Teammate Faith Vokos was credited with one assist, while goalkeeper Madison Silva had three saves and Miriam Abonce made one save.
With the win, St. Francis (8-1-1) improved to 5-0 in the Santa Lucia Division standings ahead of Anzar (3-4, 3-1) and Marina (3-7-2, 2-2-2).
Next up, the Sharks host Anzar on Thursday at 3:30pm.
Girls basketball
At St. Francis 63, Seaside 25: Freshman guard Liliana Whitmeyer had a career-best 30 points in the Sharks’ blowout win over the Spartans in PCAL Cypress Division play Monday evening.
Whitmeyer added three rebounds, two steals, a pair of assists and one block, while teammate freshman Keira Grio contributed 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Sharks improved to 10-0 in league play, and sit atop of the Cypress Division standings ahead of King City (7-12, 6-3) and Palma (16-3, 4-2).
Senior Maeve Flynn had seven points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block, and sophomore Maya Calfee chipped in six points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals for St. Francis (19-2, 10-0), which plays at Pajaro Valley (4-13, 2-6) on Wednesday at 5:30pm.
Salinas 41, at Watsonville 34: Junior Stephanie Martinez had 10 points and six rebounds in the Wildcatz’s loss to the Cowboys in PCAL Gabilan Division action Monday night.
Freshman Isa Alvarez finished with eight points, five assists and four steals for Watsonville, which dropped to 6-3 in league play this season.
Salinas improved to 8-1 and sits atop of the Gabilan Division standings with just three games remaining in the regular season.
Watsonville (16-4) hosts Soledad (13-8, 3-6) on Friday at 7pm.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit results and highlights to jr****@we*****.com. Follow sports editor Juan Reyes (@jmreyes831) on Twitter for scores and news updates.
