{"id":3741640,"date":"2026-03-03T21:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T05:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montereyherald.com\/?p=3741640"},"modified":"2026-03-04T06:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:06:57","slug":"cif-norcal-soccer-salinas-alvarez-advance-to-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montereyherald.com\/2026\/03\/03\/cif-norcal-soccer-salinas-alvarez-advance-to-semifinals\/","title":{"rendered":"CIF NorCal soccer: Salinas, Alvarez advance to semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"

SALINAS — Less than 72 hours after a jubilant celebration, players — some in tears — stood in frustration, unsatisfied with the result, which was a win.<\/p>\n

“We didn’t play our best game tonight,” insisted Salinas girls’ soccer coach Ralph Bozzo. “We were a little off. We had to grind really hard. This was all about character. Who can survive and live for another practice?”<\/p>\n

A goal in the first half held up Tuesday as the Cowboys opened the CIF Northern California Division III playoffs with a 1-0 win over visiting University (San Francisco).<\/p>\n

“Our reputation is one thing,” said Bozzo, who is in his 18th season at Salinas. “The tournament will show what our character is. All these teams are skilled and good.”<\/p>\n

Seeded No. 1, the Cowboys (20-1-1) will host No. 4 Sonoma Academy — 2-0 winners over Central Coast Section Division III champ Aptos — on Thursday at 5 p.m. for a spot in the finals.<\/p>\n

The Coyotes (17-4-2) have rattled off nine straight wins, knocking off University 1-0 in double overtime last Saturday to capture the North Coast Section championship.<\/p>\n

“We had to grind really hard,” said Bozzo, owner of 191 wins at Salinas. “This was about heart. ”<\/p>\n

Salinas, which has captured four straight Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division titles and two Central Coast Section titles in the past four years, has never gotten past the first round of the Northern California tournament.<\/p>\n

Having shattered the single-season school record with the program’s first-ever 20-win season, Salinas will go into the semifinal game unbeaten in its past 18 matches.<\/p>\n

“Everyone had to put in that extra effort,” Bozzo said. “Every second matters in this tournament. We couldn’t take a second, a play off. Every throw, every tackle was critical.”<\/p>\n

Not since playing Monterey to a 1-1 draw 13 matches ago had the Cowboys felt threatened, having outscored three postseason opponents 11-1.<\/p>\n

Yet, after Jenifer Molina produced a goal in the first half on an assist from Kayden Aguilera, the offense struggled as University kept them out of the box.<\/p>\n

“Your reputation is not going to win these games,” Bozzo said. “It’s going to take effort. These teams don’t know you. And we don’t (know) them. It took a while to feel it out and see what they had. This was good for us.”<\/p>\n

What wasn’t absent was a Cowboy defense that has helped goalie Fynlee Devine record 15 shutouts this season, as the freshman finished with five saves.<\/p>\n

“Nathalie Sanchez was a beast out there on defense,” Bozzo said. “And Fynlee was steady. Now we know we can win ugly if we have to. A game like this will help us moving forward.”<\/p>\n

Boys —\u00a0Division I<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alvarez 4, Clayton Valley Charter 1:<\/strong> As gut-wrenching as last week’s loss in the Central Coast Section finals was for the Eagles, the ultimate goal remains alive.<\/p>\n

“We’re striving for the next challenge in front of us,” Alvarez coach Gabriel Campos said. “We were devastated by what happened last Friday. We spoke to the boys on Monday, explaining that this feeling can’t get any worse. But a win will erase that.”<\/p>\n

The defending Northern California Division I champions put last Friday’s overtime loss to Mountain View in the rear-view mirror by erupting for four goals in stunning No. 3 seed Clayton Valley Charter in the Division I opener.<\/p>\n

That coupled with Monte Vista of Danville upsetting No. 2 seed Granite Bay, will enable Alvarez to host Thursday’s semifinal match at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

“I was worried about how we’d respond,” Campos said. “How do I get them back on track. The loss drilled us. We felt we shined in a tough loss. These boys brushed that to the side. It speaks volumes what this group is about.”<\/p>\n

Not only did last week’s loss keep Alvarez from defending its CCS title, but it knocked them from the undefeated ranks and snapped a 48-game unbeaten streak.<\/p>\n

“The boys dug in,” Campos said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps exercising some frustration, Alvarez went out and produced four goals, two coming from school record holder Jorge Hernandez, who now has 33 on the season.<\/p>\n

Abraham Orozco and Hector Monzon added goals for Alvarez (23-1-1), while Luis Macias produced a pair of assists, with Omar Lopez and Fernando Macias each adding one. Goalie Alvaro Reyes posted five saves in the crease.<\/p>\n

The win also keeps Campos’ hopes for a rematch with Mountain View — 3-2 winners over Rocklin — alive. The two teams could only meet in the championship game.<\/p>\n

“We’d love to get a rematch with Mountain View,” Campos said. “But our next challenge is Monte Vista. I watched their film against Clayton Valley. They are physical.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salinas girls, Alvarez boys advance into the CIF NorCal divisional soccer semifinals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":3740454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,408,67,66],"tags":[128,11071],"feature":[],"location":[9390,182,280,9391,9452,11246,281,282,283,284,285,286,279,287,11245,288,289,290,291,292,293,294],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[4569],"class_list":["post-3741640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-high-school-sports","category-latest-headlines","category-local-sports","category-sports","tag-high-school-soccer","tag-sports-newsletter","location-big-sur","location-california","location-carmel","location-carmel-valley","location-castroville","location-central-coast","location-del-rey-oaks","location-gonzales","location-greenfield","location-king-city","location-marina","location-monterey","location-monterey-county","location-moss-landing","location-northern-california","location-pacific-grove","location-pebble-beach","location-prunedale","location-salinas","location-sand-city","location-seaside","location-soledad"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"CIF NorCal soccer","print_title":"Salinas, Alvarez advance to semifinals","print_subheadline":"","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":1772668800,"print_slug":"MCH-L-SOCCER-BOLDL-0305","print_content":"

SALINAS --\u00a0A goal in the first half held up Tuesday as Salinas HIgh opened the CIF Northern California Division III girls soccer playoffs with a 1-0 win over visiting University (San Francisco).<\/p>\n

\"We didn't play our best game tonight,\" insisted Salinas coach Ralph Bozzo. \"We were a little off. We had to grind really hard. This was all about character. Who can survive and live for another practice?\"<\/p>\n

Seeded No. 1, the Cowboys (20-1-1) will host No. 4 Sonoma Academy -- 2-0 winners over Central Coast Section Division III champ Aptos -- on Thursday at 5 p.m. for a spot in the finals.<\/p>\n

Salinas, which has captured four straight Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division titles and two Central Coast Section titles in the past four years, has never gotten past the first round of the Northern California tournament.<\/p>\n

Having shattered the single-season school record with the program's first-ever 20-win season, Salinas will go into the semifinal game unbeaten in its past 18 matches.<\/p>\n

After Jenifer Molina produced a goal in the first half on an assist from Kayden Aguilera, the offense struggled as University kept them out of the box.<\/p>\n

Freshman goalie Fynlee Devine,\u00a0 who has had a record 15 shutouts this season, finished with five saves.<\/p>\n

\"Nathalie Sanchez was a beast out there on defense,\" Bozzo said. \"And Fynlee was steady. Now we know we can win ugly if we have to. A game like this will help us moving forward.\"<\/p>\n

Boys --\u00a0Division I<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alvarez 4, Clayton Valley Charter 1: <\/strong>The defending Northern California Division I champions put last Friday's overtime loss to Mountain View in the rear-view mirror by erupting for four goals in stunning No. 3 seed Clayton Valley Charter in the Division I opener.<\/p>\n

That coupled with Monte Vista of Danville upsetting No. 2 seed Granite Bay, will enable Alvarez to host Thursday's semifinal match at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"I was worried about how we'd respond,\" Campos said. \"How do I get them back on track. The loss drilled us. We felt we shined in a tough loss. These boys brushed that to the side. It speaks volumes what this group is about.\"<\/p>\n

Not only did last week's loss keep Alvarez from defending its CCS title, but it knocked them from the undefeated ranks and snapped a 48-game unbeaten streak.<\/p>\n

Alvarez went out and produced four goals, two coming from school record holder Jorge Hernandez, who now has 33 on the season.<\/p>\n

Abraham Orozco and Hector Monzon added goals for Alvarez (23-1-1), while Luis Macias produced a pair of assists, with Omar Lopez and Fernando Macias each adding one. Goalie Alvaro Reyes posted five saves in the crease.<\/p>\n","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Salinas girls, Alvarez boys advance into the CIF NorCal divisional soccer semifinals","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. 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