SOLEDAD — Soledad hit a small bump on the road in capturing the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division girls’ soccer title after suffering its first loss in league play last week.
In just the second time this season, the Aztecs were held scoreless in a 3-0 loss to the defending league champion Cowboys on Feb. 6.
“I felt like our players got intimidated and they felt the pressure,” said Soledad head coach Victor Garcia after the game. “They knew it was an important game. Basically, the winner was going to get league champions.”
A majority of Soledad’s players shed tears realizing their chances of at least sharing the Gabilan Division crown is now slim to none. They dropped to 8-1-1 in league play, while the Cowboys (13-1-2) improved to 9-0-1.
“I feel like [Salinas] wanted it more,” said Soledad senior Vanessa Aguilar. “But at the end of the day it was a good game. I feel like collectively we did good as a team.”
Aguilar was there to console her teammates as they walked off the pitch in disappointment following the loss.
“We’re a family, we support one another,” she said. “We motivate each other on and off the field.”
However, the season is far from over for the Aztecs (15-2-1), who are still assured a spot in the upcoming Central Coast Section playoffs.
“I told them it happens, a loss is a loss,” Garcia said. “It happens in every sport, it happens to better teams. I told him now time to turn the page and now time to focus on the next thing which is CCS.”
Garcia added that not playing on their home field made a big difference. In the teams’ first meeting in Soledad, the Aztecs took a two-goal lead to start the match. The Cowboys eventually tied the score for the 2-2 draw.
Last week, both teams were deadlocked in a scoreless game going into halftime. That was until senior Delilah Vega-Aguilar gave Salinas a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
Vega-Aguilar juked two Aztec defenders to the left to set up her shot and blasted it near the right post past senior goalkeeper Mariana Leon.
“I feel like this time we had a different mentality from the last game, especially since not all our players were playing,” Vega-Aguilar said. “Now that all of us were playing, we had a set-goal and beat them, and we did it.”
The Cowboys extended the lead at 2-0 in the 59th with a goal from Praisia Lowe, then capped off the scoring when Morgan Retterer scored in the 80th-plus minute.
“This is a big win, especially if we want to be league champs,” Vega-Aguilar said.
Soledad was promoted into the Gabilan Division after it won the Mission Division crown in 2023-24. They were a CCS Division IV finalist, losing to Alvarez in the championship game.
Garcia said they deserve to be in the Gabilan Division, which is the highest tier of the four divisions within the PCAL.
“I knew from the beginning that Salinas High was going to be trouble, but I knew we were ready to come up here and compete,” he said.
Garcia has coached all 12 of the seniors on this year’s roster, including Aguilar since they were in fourth grade. He’s built a great connection with the players and their parents.
Aguilar is tied for a team-best 15 goals along with 13 assists. Others key returners for Soledad include senior Giselle Zepeda and junior Myrin Amilpa.
Zepeda is tied for a team-best 15 goals to go along with a pair of assists, while Amilpa has 12 goals and five assists.
Underclassmen making an impact on this year’s squad are freshmen Nichole Gonzalez, Clarissa Valdez and Michelle Campos and Myah De Leon.
Gonzalez has seven goals and 12 assists, and Valdez has tallied five goals and five assists for the Aztecs.
“I think that we got a really good foundation, a really good communication with the team,” Garcia said. “We would consider ourselves a second family.”
Soledad and Salinas both have two games remaining in the regular season before heading into the CCS playoffs.
The Aztecs have a home match against Rancho San Juan on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., followed by the regular season finale at Monterey on Friday at 3 p.m.
After that, they’ll await for the postseason seeding meeting to determine when and who they play next.
“We’ve been to the CCS final before without getting the league championship,” Garcia said. “We have young players, as well, and I feel like we’re ready to compete. Just a little bump in the road.”
