Hollister girls soccer heads to playoffs

The Hollister girls soccer team has persevered through injuries, illnesses and tough Gabilan competition to put together another solid season. Now, another playoff run awaits. 

The Balers finished the regular season with a 9-7-2 overall record, 5-5-2 and third place in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division. Hollister’s third-place finish matches their 2022 and 2024 results, with nearly identical overall and league records. 

The 2023 season was the high point of the program, with an amazing playoff run to Central Coast Section and NorCal titles. That summarizes four straight superb years at the highest level of competition.

“This is a really good group,” coach Becky Bonner said. “They work collaboratively together and are building every game. Their camaraderie is excellent and they support each other.”

Before the competitive Gabilan play began, Hollister went 4-2 in pre-season. Featured games included wins over Lincoln 1-0, Aptos 2-1, San Lorenzo Valley 3-2 and a 15-0 rout of Seaside. The win over Aptos was a highlight, as the Mariners finished their regular season 15-2-1, with a 9-0-1 first-place finish in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League.

In league play, the Balers beat Watsonville twice, dumped Monterey twice and went 1-0-1 against both Rancho San Juan and Everett Alvarez. Salinas and Soledad were the class of the Gabilan and they beat everyone else in league, with the Cowboys winning the loop via a victory and a tie against the Aztec Warriors.

Hollister scored goals with players from all over the squad. The defense from the midfield and back line was fortified with superb goalkeeper play from Itzel Flores.

“Our team has a good mindset,” senior co-captain Sydney Stacy said. “We’ve had some injuries but the team tries hard and is always positive. It’s a tough league. We’re really fast and we work through the middle. We focus on crossing and our defense stays connected.”

Summer Forrest scored twice against SLV and three times in the Seaside rout but recently tore her ACL and is out for the season. Stacy, Ana Kaplansky, Briella Rose Perham, Kylie Varnes and Samantha Alvarado-Castillo are also big scorers. 

Contributions on offense and defense come from Mia Briano, Malia Muenzer, Aleah Olguin, Morgen Ortiz and Alana Tiopan. Aaliyah Martinez, Arianna Trevino and Julia Coria Martinez are also adding a lot. Top defenders include Maya Arreola, Hailey Brown and Karen Alvarado-Castillo, with Flores in goal.

In league play, Hollister finished third behind the big two, due to a 5-1-2 mark against the rest of the league. The Balers’ record outdistanced RSJ at 4-3-1, Alvarez at 3-4-1 and Monterey and Watsonville at 3-5. In those eight contests, the Balers scored 16 goals and allowed just nine, an advantage per game of 2.0 to 1.1.

Highlights included goals from Varnes and Samantha Alvarado-Castillo in the league-opening shutout of the Wildcatz and two Stacy goals and one from Varnes in the win at Monterey on January 15.

Even in the defeats, the Balers fought hard and showed resilience. A 1-0 home loss to Soledad on Jan. 29 was the closest anyone other than Salinas came to the Aztec Warriors. In the Jan. 9 loss to Soledad, the Balers scored two goals, the most anyone other than Salinas scored against them. In fact, Soledad was 8-0 with 46 goals scored and four allowed in those contests. On that day, two of the four came from Hollister’s Briano and Muenzer.

On Feb. 12 at Salinas on the Cowboys’ Senior Day, the Balers fell behind early but fought throughout. On a cold drizzly pitch, Hollister scored twice in the second half. In the Balers’ two losses to Salinas, HHS scored four goals against an elite squad that allowed just 13 in 12 league games.

“Salinas is excellent every year,” Bonner said. “I’m happy we got two. Most teams struggle to score at all against them. Bri (Perham) sent the first one in and I think Sydney (Stacy) got it out of a crowd. The second goal came from Ana (Kaplansky) on a play from Alana Tiopan.”

Bonner particularly complimented Flores in goal, as the speedy Cowboys attacked fiercely on the perimeter and sent balls into the middle with crosses. Salinas also used long balls over the top to produce opportunities. Flores had to come out of the goal to stop several kinds of shots, including break-aways.

Hollister tied Alvarez 0-0 in the subsequent game, a Senior Night regular-season finale.

“Our goal is the playoffs,” Bonner said. “We want to build for the playoffs. We want to get everyone healthy and do well there.”

CCS playoff brackets will be revealed on Feb. 20. Play begins on Feb. 22 and continues through March 1. Top teams in each CCS division will be looking at NorCal playoffs thereafter.