SV winter sports bound for playoffs

Girls basketball
The Falcons won their first Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown under head coach Jim Hart, by sweeping the league with a 12-0 record. League MVP Liz Munger, a senior, led the team in scoring for a second year, averaging 16.9 points a game, followed by fellow team captain Natalia Ebrahimian, who averaged 11.
The Falcons were helped by three starting freshmen, Tori McBride, Nadene Hart and Angela Silver, who all made a huge impact this season. Freshman Autumn Gaudice-Murphy also made countless big plays for the Falcons off the bench.
The Falcons fell in the league tournament, upset by eventual champion St. Francis of Watsonville. However, Scotts Valley earned a bye in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division IV playoffs and will host Notre Dame of Belmont at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26.
Girls soccer
This Falcons team again shone as league champion, marching its way through the regular season under the tutelage of veteran head coach Art Munoz, voted Coach of the Year by the all-SCCAL committee.
Led by captains Aly Bothman (SCCAL player of the year), Jordan Carlson, Emily Payne, Madison Black, Kalynn Morano and Taylor Rohde, the Scotts Valley girls earned a 10-1-1 league record, 13-4-2 overall, securing a No. 1 seeding in the Central Coast Division IV championship.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Johnson was voted co-goalie of the year for a second time with Santa Cruz goalie Stephanie Busch. Johnson and the Falcon defense kept opponents scoreless 14 times this year.
The Falcons earned a first-round bye in the playoffs and will play Saturday against the winner of the Valley Christian-Menlo game, at a time to be announced.
Boys basketball
Seeded 14th in Division IV of the CCS, Scotts Valley fell to No. 11 Marina, 61-53, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to end the season.
The Falcons earned the playoff berth despite a 1-11 league record and a 7-17 overall finish.
The team had a relatively rough season under first-year head coach Drew Snelgrove, with its only SCCAL win coming against St. Francis High School.
The Falcons were led by team captains Desmond Balco and Kyle Fletcher. Balco led the team in scoring, averaging 12 points a game, followed by Jack Pasquini, who averaged 9.
Wrestling
The Scotts Valley wrestling team finished the season in second place to the always-tough Aptos Mariners after the Falcon wrestlers found themselves outgunned in their final dual meet Feb. 15. Both Scotts Valley and Aptos were 4-0 in league going into the match.
Six Scotts Valley wrestlers will compete in the CCS tournament Friday and Saturday at Oak Grove High School:
**Kevin Eddington (103 pounds), first at the SCCAL tourney, No. 11 seed in CCS
**Anthony Smith (130 pounds), second in SCCAL
**Chris Youmans (145 pounds) second in SCCAL, No. 14 seed in CCS
n David Nice (152 pounds), second in SCCAL, No. 13 seed in CCS
**Baldan Dashiev (160 pounds), second in SCCAL
** Drake Smith (215 pounds), first in SCCAL, No. 5 seed in CCS
Boys soccer
The Falcons finished 4-7-1 in SCCAL play and 7-9-3 overall. The leading scorer for the Falcons was Nick Martin, who also led the team in assists, with four goals and four assists. Sophomore Brenny Hillan was named the SCCAL Goalkeeper of the Year.