Scotts Valley High’s girls soccer team continues to gradually improve as the 2025-26 winter campaign hit the midway point of league play beginning this week.
The Falcons fell to Santa Cruz, 2-1, in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play on Tuesday, but they’ve come a long way since losing five straight to kick off the season.
First-year head coach Heidi Petruzzi reached out to senior team captains Isabella Morairty and Ella Ireland with high hopes that they’d be able to help turn things around.
“I really just want them to obviously lead by example whether we’re up, whether we’re down, whether it’s easy, whether it’s hard,” Petruzzi said. “I’m just looking for them to help keep the team in a good mindset.”
The losing streak included defeats against formidable opponents, such as Valley Christian, The King’s Academy and Los Gatos—a Central Coast Section Division I playoff qualifier in 2024-25.
“It does get us prepared a lot, especially the type of teams that we’ve been playing,” Ireland said.
Petruzzi added most of their players were also out with an illness, which further delayed team progress.
“We were just trying to fill in the gaps where we could,” she said. “When you don’t have your full roster healthy, it makes it that much more challenging.”
Since then, they played competitively against Sobrato in a 2-2 draw and defeated Half Moon Bay 2-0 in non-league play.
The Falcons opened league play with a scoreless draw against San Lorenzo Valley on Jan. 13. Ireland and teammate freshman Eva Pogrowski each notched one goal in a 2-0 win over Harbor just two days later.
Senior Maya Teves recorded one goal while freshman Brooke Lesniak was credited with the assist in a 1-1 draw against The Harker School in non-league action Jan. 16.
“After all the losses, it definitely brought our team closer together,” Ireland said. “I feel like after winning a good game we definitely connected more, and I feel like we’re gonna be more prepared for the season.”
Scotts Valley currently owns a 2-6-3 overall record, and is 1-1-1 in league play.
Other key returning players include juniors Bella Agnone and Taylor Ericson, who tallied one goal in Tuesday’s loss to Santa Cruz.
Ericson scored off an assist from freshman Eva Pogrowski in the 17th minute, while senior goalkeeper Jazzelyn Phillips had seven saves.
Meanwhile, Lesniak and Pogrowski along with sophomore Natalia Warner have also been making waves this season.
Pogrowski and Lesniak each had one goal in the victory over Half Moon Bay, while Warner continues to hone her skills on the pitch.
“[Warner’s] a work horse,” Petruzzi said. “I can put her pretty much anywhere on the field and I know she will be able to perform, and be able to be impactful.”
Pogrowski, Lesniak and Warner have also impressed Ireland, who admitted she never put in the same amount of work while playing as a frosh or sophomore.
Ireland said the young Falcon trio were set on the team’s mission and hit the ground running since the first day of practice.
“They’re very supportive and positive no matter what,” Ireland said. “They’re very good, and I enjoy playing with them. It makes me happy that they’re confident on the team.”
The Falcons wound up in the middle of the pack in the 2024-25 season, finishing with a 4-3-3 record in league play.
Petruzzi, who replaced former head coach Taylor Raymond, said it’s hard to tell what the competition within the league will look like this season. Especially because each program can change so quickly during the offseason, such as Soquel, which lost numerous seniors due to graduation.
“I think that our preseason, if anything, would over prepare us for league,” Petruzzi said. “It was definitely rough and it was hard for them, but I think it was just good in terms of how do we react after something like that happens.”
Apart from a challenging non-league schedule, Scotts Valley doesn’t get to host a single match due to ongoing construction at the stadium for a new all-weather track and field.
They continued league play against Aptos on Thursday. Game results were not available prior to this publication’s deadline. Scotts Valley (2-6-3, 1-1-1) plays at Soquel on Jan. 27 at 7pm.
“It’s a short season, have a good time with it,” Petruzzi said. “Then secondary is kind of keeping that focus and keeping that camaraderie together. If we are all acting individually out there, then we’re hosed because this is a team sport.”
