Two Santa Cruz County boys lacrosse standouts — Aptos High senior midfielder Evan “Spike” Sorensen and Monte Vista Christian junior midfielder Zach Binder — received special honors during All-Pacific Coast Athletic League voting, which was conducted at the conclusion of the season by league coaches.

Sorensen was named Mission Division Player of the Year after helping the Mariners (13-3, 11-1) win the division title, and Binder was named Offensive Player of the Year for the fourth-place Mustangs (7-13, 5-7).

The Mariners saw their season come to a close in an 18-3 loss to Los Gatos in a Central Coast Section play-in game May 10.

Sorensen finished the season with 53 goals, which was second on the team to sophomore attacker Parker O’Hara (67), and a team-high 46 assists. Sorensen’s 99-point campaign was second in program history behind Kale Lampman (116 points in ’22).

“What really stands out to all of us coaches is that he has almost as many assists as goals,” Mariners coach Darian Boyd said. “Most star players on a team have twice as many goals as assists. It shows how selfless he is.”

Sorensen, who had a 4.37 weighted grade-point average, was selected to play in the NorCal Lacrosse Association’s Senior All-Star Game at Menlo-Atherton High on May 28. He’s a candidate for All-American and Academic All-American honors.

“Spike is the athlete everyone loves to root for,” Boyd said. “I’ve never heard him say an unkind thing about anyone. True character and grit.”

Sorensen joined the Mariners’ varsity squad as a freshman and played all four years.

“The young man loves to run,” Boyd said. “For the entire team, running is a punishment. For Spike, it’s a reward.”

Three college-bound Mariner seniors Lampman, Aidan Niklaus and Jack Curran took him under their wing when he was a freshman.

“I think those early experiences helped Spike fall in love with the sport,” Boyd said.

Sorensen kept running, kept developing. He served as team captain his final two seasons and the two-way midfielder led the team in groundballs during both campaigns.

Boyd said his star player rarely left the field.

“He’s the best captain I’ve coached in 10 years of coaching lacrosse at the high school level,” his coach said. “I love Evan Sorensen, the baller everyone at Aptos High knows as ‘Spike.’ We wish him continued success as he pursues engineering and robotics at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.”

Binder not only led the Mustangs with 73 goals, he led the CCS, according to stats published on maxpreps.com. His goal total was also the sixth-highest in the state.

He also had 37 assists, a .465 shooting %, and won 140 of his 252 faceoffs (.556 win %).

“Zach is incredible,” Mustangs coach Ryan Bariteau said. “He’s a phenomenal lacrosse player. Other teams put their best defender on his and he just performs. He was our best player, so we had him do everything.”

He did everything and shined at everything.

“He’s shifty. We call him, ‘The human pinball’ — he’ll bounce around off players,” Bariteau said. “He has good stick skills and a good shot. He’s tough.”

Bariteau said a major reason for Binder’s success was his high lacrosse IQ.

While it was just the Mustangs’ second full season with a team, Binder has significantly more experience on the field. He has played for South Bay Lacrosse Club for six years.

“He really understands the game,” Bariteau said. “That’s what I think he’s best at. He’s a good player, but he’s going to be a really, really good player.”

Bariteau said Binder has a motor that doesn’t quit: “He has great endurance. He runs forever. Other kids are tired and he’s not. He probably runs eight to nine miles a game.”

Sorensen and O’Hara were joined on the all-Mission Division first team by teammate Alex Sandoval, a junior midfielder.

Binder was joined on the first team by two teammates, senior midfielder Nic Coleprete and sophomore defender Zachary Figliomeni.

Santa Cruz senior midfielder Ethan Whitley also made the first team.

Gabilan Division

Stevenson senior attacker Will Bufkin and senior goalie Jett Jones were named Co-Player of the Year in the Gabilan Division, the top tier of the PCAL, after leading the Pirates (16-3, 10-0) to the title.

Los Gatos junior Zach Otoupal was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second-place Wildcats (14-9, 8-2).

Soquel sophomore midfielder Jed Del Favero was named to the all-Gabilan first team for the Knights (6-11, 0-10).