Girls Soccer Takes Down an Undefeated Santa Ynez for Senior Night

On Feb. 5, 2026, the MBHS girls’ soccer team took on the Santa Ynez Pirates for their senior night. At the time, Santa Ynez was currently undefeated in its league coming into the game, making it quite tense. But luckily, freshman Chava Brody saved the day for the seniors with a free kick over 30 yards back that flew past the opposing Pirates’ goalie, giving Morro Bay the lead and ultimately the win.

With one more game to go before the playoffs start, a few seniors recapped their season. “This season was endeavoring,” said McKenzie Stilts, a senior and captain for the Pirates. “The entire season, the whole team was striving to achieve more wins. We came from being underdogs to making games close and competitive. Last year, we only had one win, and we were playing not to

lose, but this year, we switched our mindset, and we were playing to win,” said Stilts.

Stilts has been playing soccer since she was just 4 years old and is an attacking midfielder for the team. “This season we didn’t really have one goal, we had a lot of goals, but what we strove for was to grow mentally and become one on the field,” Stilts said.

“This season was just a lot of growth,” shared senior Ailene Gomez, a winger for Morro Bay. “We have grown and changed a lot from last season, especially with a new coach and all, but we were able to grow and build strong connections as a team,” said Gomez. 

Soccer means almost everything to these seniors, as a majority of them have been playing since they were young. Senior Daisy Pimienta has been playing soccer since she was 3years old. “The game is so special to me since I’ve been playing for so long. For me, it’s a way to have fun and forget the personal things in my life, you know, to just set those aside for the moment and just play,” said Pimienta, a fellow captain alongside Stilts. 

“For me, it’s an outlet. But it’s also more than that, it’s uniting with girls from different backgrounds of life and gaining skills to create a family dynamic with these teammates you wouldn’t have really interacted with outside of soccer,” Stilts said.

This season, especially the girls’ soccer team here at Morro Bay, has many different girls from different backgrounds. The team is diverse in age this year, with some main contributors being underclassmen. With the team doing team bonding and being able to unite as one and be vulnerable with each other on and off the field, they were able to make a push to the playoffs this year, proving to many that last season for the Pirates was just a mere fluke. 

Soccer and all sports in general are more than just learning the sport; oftentimes, they teach you important life lessons and skills that you can take with you once you finally step away from the sport. “Soccer has taught me to keep drama and outside issues outside of what you’re doing, whether that’s sports, work, or whatever you’re doing in life,” said Pimienta. 

“Soccer has really taught me willpower and how to persevere through things when you don’t want to. By doing things you don’t want to you’re able to create space for a growth mentality, which can really help you later in life when we get jobs and move on,” Stilts said.

 “Soccer has really taught me to be patient; patience is key in almost anything you’re doing,” said Gomez. 

“My teammates are my biggest supporters,” said both Gomez and Pimienta. With such a tight-knit bond between these girls filled with lots of laughter and bonding moments, it’s easy for your teammates to feel like a family that is always there to support each other. 

“Overall, my dad has been my greatest supporter, he’s always been there since I started playing soccer and he always gives me advice and feedback but he never pressures me by expecting anything,” said Stilts, “But for a portion of time during my soccer career my former club coach, Alex Croizer, who is the former Cal Poly coach was a big supporter in teaching me the balance of working hard and just having fun,” said Stilts, describing her soccer influences. 

The 2-1 win against Santa Ynez landed the girls 4th in the Ocean League. The girls have one last away game against the Nipomo Titans on Feb. 10. They hope to repeat the 7-0 win they had over the Titans just last time they met and go into playoffs with a 7-10-2 record. Goodluck Pirates!