In only her second year as varsity girls’ soccer coach at Scotts Valley High School, Taylor Raymond has been selected Coach of the Year.
The honor is decided by a vote of all the coaches in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League.
Scotts Valley finished 4-3-3 in the league–third behind Aptos (9-1) and Santa Cruz (5-2) — with an overall record of 7-6-5.
Scotts Valley High girls’ soccer seniors with coaches (from left): Assistant Lauren Inman, assistant Sarah Shaughnessy, senior Gianna Mandujano, senior Alex Teves, senior Naiya Samios, and coach Taylor Raymond.
“I am so proud of how far these girls have come,” said Raymond. “They gained confidence, practiced so hard, and put in the amount of effort we needed to become a winning team. They are a very young team, only three seniors and three juniors, and they really came together as one cohesive unit and worked harder than I’ve ever seen a team work; you could tell they wanted it.”
Senior Alex Teves and freshman Ella Ireland, both defenders, were named to the All-League first team.
Sophomore Lia Lock, at forward, sophomore Ashley Haver, at midfielder, were named to the all League second team.
Junior Paige Bariteau, goalkeeper, and sophomore Annie Gowing, defender, were honorable mention selections.
Senior Naiya Saimos was named Most Outstanding Attacker.
Coach Taylor Raymond hugs senior Gianna Mandujano, a four-year varsity player, as her father looks on.
“Being in the running for CCS was a great feeling,” Raymond said. “The girls and I were thrilled with the outcome of our season and we are all very proud to be 3rd. I could not have done any of this without my three assistant coaches, Shelby, Sarah, and Lauren, and my wonderful group of girls on the team!”
She added, “I also just wanted to thank the other coaches in the league for all of their help throughout this season and for the constant support.”
Raymond was a force herself as a senior midfielder for Scotts Valley High. She graduated in 2015 and studied at Cabrillo College.
A year-and-a-half ago, she joined the Scotts Valley Police Department as an emergency dispatcher.
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The rest of the All-League selections:
First Team: Kaitlyn Murphy, Aptos junior, Ella Shoemaker, Aptos junior, Alexanda Castaneda, Aptos freshman, Clara Willet, Santa Cruz senior • Zaina Alahaina, Santa Cruz senior • Julia Inkles, Soquel junior • Haily Betterman, Soquel freshman • Hannah LoFranco, Harbor senior • Gianna Schw arzbach, SLV senior
Second Team: Angelique Nunez , Aptos junior, Catalina Ontiveros, Aptos senior, Gwen Chapman, Aptos senior, Clare Byram, Santa Cruz senior • Maya Kingsley, Santa Cruz junior Yaren Yanez, Soquel senior • Chloe McGilvray, Soquel sophomore • Sonja Hulpers, Harbor junior • Simone Mugnier, SLV freshman
Honorable Mention: Madison Redding, Aptos freshman, Peyton Westjohn, Aptos junior, goalkeeper Alessandra Zuniga, Aptos junior, Lia Gulorte, Santa Cruz freshman • Sienna Parker, Santa Cruz junior • Lucinda Steiner, Santa Cruz junior • Alexis Sierra, Soquel sophomore • Victoria Weiss, Soquel junior • Sadie Strout, Soquel senior • Zoe Soenen, Harbor junior • Becca Vaca, Harbor sophomore • Anika Dawson, Harbor junior • Joci Carkner, SLV junior • Naomi Sifton, SLV junior • Leila Nite, SLV junior
Player of the Year: Aptos senior Summer Jacob and Santa Cruz sophomore Jocelyn Travers.
Most Outstanding Midfielder: Lily Montesinos, Soquel senior.
Keeper-of-the-Year: Ruby Holmes, Santa Cruz junior.
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Top Photo: Scotts Valley High girls’ soccer coach Taylor Raymond at Senior Night on Jan 31.