SOLEDAD — A determined Soledad High School girls’ soccer team won their final three Mission divisional games, while their closest competitors Monte Vista Christian lost their final two contests.
The Lady Aztecs finished the regular season with a 15-3-2 overall record and were 9-2-1 in the Mission Division of the Pacific Coast Athletic League.
Despite losing Sophia Martel, the Monterey County record holder in goals scored, in December to early graduation, the Lady Aztecs behind a veteran lineup kept the pedal on the gas and won their first two division games.
After a 3-1 loss to MVC at home, Soledad reeled off five straight wins. The Lady Aztecs finished the regular season with another loss to MVC then recovered with three wins and one tie.
The division title is the second championship in the PCAL since the 2021-22 season for Soledad. The Lady Aztecs also won the 2015 and 2016 Mission Trail Athletic League championships.
“We have girls that have played together for a long time,” said Lady Aztecs head coach Victor Garcia. “We had some close games during the regular season, but our experienced team played well.”
After the departure of Martel, junior Giselle Zepeda became the offensive leader as she finished with 18 goals, while teammate Myrin Amilpa added 11 goals.
Zepeda also had eight assists, and Jennifer Troncoso had 11 assists. Mariana Leon had 255 saves as the Lady Aztecs goalie.
Soledad was seeded third in the Central Coast Section playoffs, and will play at home against sixth-seed Silver Creek on Saturday at 1 p.m.
