Two of the major goals for the El Capitan High girls soccer team this season were repeating as the Central California Conference champions and then making a deep run in the playoffs. The Gauchos checked that first goal off the checklist after earning a share of the CCC championship with Buhach Colony. 

 

The Gauchos finished the regular season with a 15-4 record overall and 9-1 in the CCC, which earned them the No. 4 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoffs. El Capitan will host No 13 Christian Brothers on Friday night in the first round of the playoffs. It will be the first playoff game in El Capitan’s new on-campus stadium. “This year was very special,” said El Capitan coach Andrew Pangelina.”To win once was very exciting, but to win back-to-back is an amazing accomplishment that the team worked for all season.”

 

The Gauchos success has come from a mix of youth and veteran players. Freshman Lia Garcia Del Castillo led the CCC with 18 goals in eight conference games. The dynamic freshman scored 24 goals on the season. The Gauchos also count on contributions from fellow freshman Isabella Pantoja and seniors Colette Collins, Anahi Rivera and Bailee Moniz. Senior goalie Alexia Ruiz has played strong in the cage all season as well. 

 

“There was more of a belief this season than last year,” Pangelina said. “This team was ready to defend its league title.” The Gauchos now must fine tune their game as the competition level rises in the postseason. “We need to limit the mistakes and finish on the opportunities that we get,” Pangelina added.

 

Two other MUHSD girls teams and four boys teams also qualified for the playoffs. Buhach Colony (16-7, 9-1 CCC) is the No. 7 seed in Division III and will host No. 10 Pioneer on Friday at 6 p.m. That will also be the first playoff game hosted in Buhach Colon’s new on-campus stadium. Sofia Alcorn led the Thunder with 20 goals to go along with 11 assists this season. Freshman Faith Vierra is second on the team with 11 goals scored.

 

The Atwater High girls are in the postseason for the first time since 2013 and are the No. 17 seed in Division II and will play a play-in game at No. 16 Johansen on Thursday night at 6 p.m. The Falcons are led by sophomores Aleena Lepe Arroyo and Sydney Machado.

 

On the boys side, Atwater (12-6-7 overall, 8-0-2 CCC) earned the No. 8 seed in Division II after winning their first CCC championship since 2016. The Falcons will host No. 9 Elk Grove on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the first round. Sixteen different Atwater players have scored goals this season led by Aadan Cisneros’ nine goals. Omar Elayle plays a big role all over the field for the Falcons. Cris Alvarez has been one of the top goalies in the CCC.

 

The Merced boys earned the No. 14 seed and will travel to No. 3 Pitman in the Division II playoffs on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Bears finished the regular season with a 9-7-4 record overall and 5-4-1 in the CCC. Bears striker Raymond Gonzalez was one of the top scorers in the CCC. 

 

The El Capitan boys are the No. 15 seed and will travel to No. 2 Valley on Saturday night at Cosumnes River College at 6 p.m. The Gauchos are led by Daniel Velasquez, Andres Aguilar and Evan Zaragoza.

 

The Livingston boys earned the No. 15 seed in Division IV and will travel to No. 2 East Union on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Wolves (8-9-3 overall and 6-5-3 Western Athletic Conference) are led by one of the top scorers in the section in Alejandro Avila, who scored 29 goals this season. That mark is the fourth most in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.