SALINAS VALLEY — The #4 seed Soledad High Lady Aztecs soccer team made a statement in their opening game last Saturday at home by winning their quarterfinal game by a 10-0 score against visiting Latino College Prep.
Soledad was placed in the Central Coast Section’s Division IV bracket and earned a spot in the semifinals with a game on Wednesday in Monterey against the #1 seed Monterey High Toreadores. Monterey began CCS playoffs with a 4-0 win at home last Saturday against the #8 seed Gonzales High.
“The team played well on offense and we took the lead from the start,” said Soledad girls soccer coach Maria Zamora. “We had Larissa Rodriguez and Micaela Mojica score four games apiece. Karina Aguilar and Judith Verdeja scored single goals for us.”
Earning assists for Soledad were Mojica, Rodriguez, Aguilar, Verdeja, Jenny Troncoso and Naylea Jarquin. Rodriguez made a smooth transition moving to forward from the defensive side and goalie Viviana Fausto had a superior game for the Lady Aztecs.
Gonzales High was on their heels all night against top seed Monterey but never gave up against the Toreadores.
“We started the season really late and our girls were just super excited about getting to practice and play soccer,” said Gonzales head coach Tiburcio Manriquez. “The season was short too, as we only played four games before earning a spot in CCS. You always want to test yourself against the best teams and that is what we got against Monterey. I am proud of our team because they played tough and hard all game long.”
Manriquez added, “Our goalie Precious Aguilera made some good stops that kept us in the game early. In fact, we did well defensively with Lupita Tejeda at center back, Emily Ochoa at full back helping out Aguilera. Ashley Ochoa had a great game at midfield for us and helped us defensively. Our team did well against a fast team on a turf field that can really tire you out.”
The Lady Spartans earned the trip to CCS by defeating the Notre Dame Spirits by a 7-0 score last Thursday in Gonzales. Samantha Oliva led Gonzales with two goals, and single goals were scored by Natalie Chavez, Araceli Martinez, Stephanie Barboza, Ruby Virgen and Katherine Toledo. Earning assists on the goals were Ashley Ochoa, Barboza, Natalie Garcia and Natalie Chavez.
The #8 seed Soledad and #7 seed Gonzales boys teams played in the CCS Division III soccer playoffs last Saturday in San Jose. The Aztecs drew the #1 seed Mt. Pleasant Cardinals and lost by a 4-1 score. Gonzales played #2 seed Willow Glen and were shut out, 6-0.
Earlier in the week, the Spartans completed the regular season with a 9-0 win over the Trinity Christian Warriors at Dick Force Stadium.
