SAN JOSE >> Aptos High earned its first No. 1 seed in the Central Coast Section girls soccer playoffs since 2001 on Thursday at the seeding meeting. Now, the Mariners will attempt to make that seed hold up.

The Mariners were one of five teams from Santa Cruz County to qualify for the playoffs. All five did so with automatic berths. Santa Cruz joins Aptos in the girls’ competitions. Aptos, Harbor and Pajaro Valley qualified their boys teams.

First-round play begins Saturday.

“When we got the text, we were super excited to have the number one seed and super excited to have a home game. Hopefully the community comes out to support us,” said Gina Castaneda, the Mariners’ second-year coach.

Aptos’ girls squad (13-4-1), the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion, hosts No. 8 Branham (8-7-5) of San Jose in the teams’ Division II opener at 6 p.m. The Mariners have made the playoffs 16 straight seasons, but will attempt to win just their fourth opening match during that span. Their last CCS win came in the ’19 D-I quarterfinals. Branham is the runner-up in the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division.

The winner between the Mariners and Bruins faces either No. 4 Santa Clara (10-5-4) or No. 5 Sacred Heart Prep (10-5-4) in Tuesday’s semifinals.

The Mariners lost to SHP 3-2 in the D-II quarterfinals last season, and lost 1-0 to Branham in the D-I quarterfinals in 2020, both as the No. 5 seed.

“We told the girls that seeding means nothing,” Castaneda said. “They have to play like it’s the World Cup, because if you lose, there’s no tomorrow. It’s a very tough division.”

On the other side of the D-II bracket, No. 6 Christopher (7-7-4) plays at No. 3 Presentation (11-8-1), and No. 7 Woodside (10-6-2) plays at No. 2 Lincoln (10-6-4).

No. 5 Santa Cruz (11-3-3) open D-III action at No. 4 Silver Creek (12-2-5) in San Jose, 7 p.m. The Cardinals, a six-time section champion and five-time runner-up, finished in second place in the SCCAL this season. The Raiders are the runner-up in the BVAL’s Santa Teresa Division.

The Santa Cruz-Silver Creek winner faces either No. 1 Rancho San Juan (14-3-2) or No. 8 Independence (14-2-0) in Wednesday’s semifinals.

On the other side of the D-III bracket, No. 6 Live Oak (9-6-3) plays at No. 3 Wilcox (13-3-2), and No. 7 Harker (11-6-2) faces No. 2 Nueva (15-2-2) at Junipero Serra in San Mateo.

Boys

No. 7 Pajaro Valley (15-1-4), the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Cypress Division champion, plays at No. 2 Prospect (14-2-3) in Saratoga at 5 p.m. The Panthers took second in the BVAL’s Mount Hamilton Division.

The Grizzlies-Panthers winner faces either No. 3 Sequoia (13-4-1) or No. 6 Hollister (13-4-2) in Wednesday’s semifinals.

In the other side of the D-I bracket, No. 5 Bellarmine (11-5-4) plays at No. 4 Greenfield (14-2-3), and No. 8 South San Francisco (12-4-2) plays at No. 1 Saint Ignatius (13-3-4) in San Francisco.

No. 5 Harbor (14-1-2), the SCCAL champion, plays its D-II opener at No. 4 Westmont (12-3-3) in Campbell at 7 p.m. The Warriors took second in the Santa Teresa’s West Division in the BVAL.

The Pirates-Warriors winner faces either No. 1 Half Moon Bay (15-3-2) or No. 8 Fremont (11-4-4) of Sunnyvale in Wednesday’s semifinals.

On the other side of the D-II bracket, No. 6 Leigh (11-6-2) plays at No. 3 Overfelt (12-2-4), and No. 7 Sobrato (14-2-2) plays at No. 2 Branham (10-7-3).

No. 8 Aptos (13-6-0), the SCCAL runner-up, plays it D-III opener at No. 1 Menlo-Atherton (6-5-7) at 3 p.m. The Bears finished third in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division.

The Mariners-Bears winner plays either No. 4 Santa Clara (8-6-6) or No. 5 Alvarez (11-6-3) in Wednesday’s semifinals.

On the other side of the D-III bracket, No. 6 Los Altos (10-4-3) plays at No. 3 Burlingame (9-2-6), and No. 7 Gunn (7-7-6) plays at No. 2 Lincoln (8-4-8).