Ava Churchill scored in the 72nd minute, and the Aptos High girls soccer team edged host Harbor 1-0 to remain unbeaten in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play Tuesday.
Churchill followed up a direct free kick that was taken by Alexa Castaneda from the 25-yard line. Castaneda kick hit the top goal post and bounced back 10 yards back into the field, and Churchill sent the ball to the top right corner of the net.
Goalkeeper Alessandra Zuniga made three saves for the Mariners (9-3-1, 5-0-0).
“Our defense was excellent again,” Pirates coach Wes Bare said, “we disrupted them all night. Aptos is a talented team, we were physical and played with confidence. However, you have to score goals to win games.”
Harbor (7-7-3, 1-3-3) hosts Soquel (7-5-2, 2-2-2) on Thursday at 7 pm, and Aptos hosts Santa Cruz (7-2-2, 1-1 -2) on Friday at 7 pm
Scotts Valley 4, at Soquel, 0: Naiya Samios scored in each half, and the Falcons won their SCCAL road match Tuesday.
Sophomore forward Lia Lock and sophomore center midfielder Jordan Ericson also scored goals in the first half.
Junior goalie Paige Bariteau made 13 saves for the Falcons (4-5-4, 2-2-2).
Falcons coach Taylor Raymond praised the efforts of freshmen Isabella Morairty and Sammy Rebbert for “stepping up to play outside defense” as Ella Ireland and Mercedes Lopez recover from injuries.
Soquel (7-5-2, 2-2-2) plays at Harbor on Thursday at 7 pm, and Scotts Valley plays at SLV on Saturday at noon.
Watsonville 0, at North Salinas 0: The Wildcatz and host Vikings played to a scoreless draw in their Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division match Tuesday.
Wildcatz goalies Juleanna Ramirez and Selena Salvador split time and made a combined five saves. North Salinas made 12 saves.
Watsonville hosts Everett Alvarez (9-2-0, 3-2-0) on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
Girls basketball
At Santa Cruz 54, SLV 27: Claire Thompson, a senior committed to NCAA Division III University of Puget Sound, had 26 points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals as the Cardinals moved closer to a perfect SCCAL campaign Tuesday.
Senior guard Madison Yazalina had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five steals for the Cardinals (15-5, 7-0), who secured no worse than a share of the league title with three games left in the regular season. Natalia Espinosa scored six points and Mackenzie Gomes had six steals, two assists and two rebounds.
The Cardinals led 32-19 at the half. SLV finished with eight field goals.
Amelia Sizemore scored all eight of her points in the first half for SLV (13-6, 4-3), and Lucy Lilienthal-Wynn scored seven points.
On Friday at 6 pm, Santa Cruz plays at Aptos, while SLV hosts Scotts Valley.
Scotts Valley 51, at Soquel 45: Senior Elana McGrew had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help the Falcons earn their SCCAL road win Tuesday.
Freshman Brooklyn Williams scored 13 points for the Falcons (5-16, 3-4).
The teams were deadlocked at 31-all entering the fourth quarter. Scotts Valley made seven free throws to close out the game.
Lily Thayer and Meaghan Diaz each scored 12 points for the Knights (9-9, 4-3). Gianna Winterhalder scored 11 points.
On Friday at 6 pm, Scotts Valley plays at SLV, while Soquel plays at Harbor.
Aptos 41, at Harbor 22: Laurel Southall made four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 15 points, as the Mariners picked up the SCCAL win Tuesday.
Guin Lines made three 3s and finished with 11 points for Aptos (7-14, 3-4). Berkeley Ashby chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds.
Maya Manildi scored six points for Harbor (7-11, 0-7), and Molly Endert-Tatum and Keili Carrier each scored five points.
On Friday at 6 pm, Harbor hosts Soquel, while Aptos hosts Santa Cruz.
Pajaro Valley 46, Marina 25: Annel Andrade and Tasha Santana each scored 16 points to help the Grizzlies stay unbeaten in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play Tuesday.
The Grizzlies (9-7, 3-0) host Rancho San Juan (7-8, 3-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Boys basketball
At Santa Cruz 74, SLV 26: Kirby Seals had 14 points and three assists to help the Cardinals stay unbeaten in SCCAL play Tuesday.
Demeke Smith had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Santa Cruz (18-3, 7-0), and Ben Dotten had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Skylar Thayer made three 3s and finished with 11 points for the Cougars. Noah Steiger chipped in with five points.
On Friday at 7:30 pm, Santa Cruz plays at Aptos, while SLV hosts Scotts Valley.
Aptos 45, at Harbor 37: The Mariners jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held on for the SCCAL win Tuesday.
Nash Campbell scored 13 points for the Pirates, and Casey Wright scored 11 points.
At St. Francis 60, Marina 33: Sam Braun made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points Tuesday, and the Sharks bounced back from their PCAL Cypress Division loss to Watsonville a night earlier.
Joseph Rose also made four 3s and scored 14 points, and Nash Horton added eight points and drew two charges.
Christian Magana shined with his rebounding effort for the Sharks (10-6, 5-1), who host Rancho San Juan on Friday at 7 p.m.
At Anzar 73, Pajaro Valley 48: Andrew Salazar had 12 points and six steals, but the Grizzlies suffered their first loss in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play Tuesday.
Matthew Silos had 10 points and five rebounds for the Grizzlies (4-9, 4-1).
Pajaro Valley hosts York on Thursday at 7 p.m
Kirby 55, at York 31: Sophomore Rain Li had 17 points and five steals to help the Griffins win their PCAL Santa Lucia Division game Tuesday.
Senior Curran Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Kirby (5-8, 2-3), senior Patrick Costello had seven points and 17 rebounds, and senior Theo Fowler had 13 points and four rebounds.
Kirby played with only five players and York played with six players.
Kirby plays Ceiba at Enterprise Sports Club in Scotts Valley on Thursday at 7 p.m
Boys soccer
Pacific Collegiate 5, at St. Francis 0: Senior striker Ignacio Delgado-Rueda produced all the offense the Pumas needed with his first-half tally, as they won their PCAL Santa Lucia Division match Tuesday.
Junior Finn Pommerenke, and sophomores Ryder Wilder and Jack McNulty scored for the Pumas in the second half.
Sophomore goalie Sam Manchester made five saves for the Pumas (3-1-1, 3-0-1), who face Trinity Christian on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
North Salinas 1, at Watsonville 0: Luis Godinez scored on a pass from Francisco Ramos to help sink the Wildcatz in PCAL Gabilan Division play Tuesday.
Goalie Emmanuel Tena had six saves for North Salinas.
The Wildcatz play at Everett Alvarez on Thursday at 5:45 p.m
Reporting Scores
Coaches are encouraged to report scores and highlights to [email protected] following games. Please include your name and contact number in the email.
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