SALINAS >> In time, the heartbreaking feeling of being on the wrong end of a result for the first time in 72 days will be replaced by the memories of a magical season.

Walking off the field for the final time Saturday, tears streamed down the faces of Salinas High’s girl soccer players who truly believed they would be practicing on Monday.

Instead, the Cowboys consoled each other after a 1-0 loss to reigning Central Coast Section champion Homestead in the Division II girls’ soccer finals at Alvarez High.

“Sometimes faith isn’t on your side,” Salinas coach Ralph Bozzo said. “The game can be cruel. It’s a game of emotion. You’re happy sad, you laugh and cry. That’s what I love about it.”

For the second consecutive season, the Mustangs ended Salinas’ season, beating them 2-0 in last year’s Division II quarterfinals enroute to their first section title in 32 years.

The Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division champion Cowboys broke the single-season school record for wins this year with 18. The only other team to have beaten them was CCS Division I finalist Mitty, back on Dec. 17.

“Now that it’s over, it will take maybe a week for them to realize what they’ve accomplished,” Bozzo said. “They’re hurting right now. They can’t see it. We’ll get together in a week and see what we did and what we’re doing. It’s a continuous thing.”

Dating back to last season, the Mustangs — who came into the tournament seeded No. 8 — have not allowed a goal in their past six CCS playoff matches, outscoring the opposition 9-0.

“Homestead is good team that fought hard,” Bozzo said. “We’re a good team. These kids take so much pride in the program. Sure, it’s going to hurt for a while.”

The Cowboys, who came into the title match having outscored two opponents 7-0, failed to produce a goal for the first time all year, although there were numerous opportunities in the first half.

“Our goalie didn’t have one save in the first half,” Bozzo said. “We were on their side of the field. We were just a step off, one pass, one connection.”

Seeded No. 2, Salinas attacked Homestead with Kate Nunes distributing the ball to Delilah Vega-Aguilar and Morgan Retterer, who came into the title match with a combined 44 goals on the season.

The near misses, though, in the first half began to weigh on players’ shoulders. While Salinas continued to supply pressure in the second half, it found itself staring at a 1-0 deficit when Grace McGoran sent a 35-yard kick into the net.

“It was a great shot,” Bozzo said. “She nailed it, kicking it through the top corner. That was the only place it could go. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

Time became a concern late in the second half as Salinas brought an extra player up in attempt to enhance its attack, yet unable to complete that final pass.

Homestead, which shutout nine of the 11 opponents it defeated this year, placed themselves in the right positions in keeping the ball out of the box, limiting the Cowboys to just four attempts on goal in the final 40 minutes.

With just two seniors on the roster, the anticipation is the two-time defending Gabilan Division champion Cowboys will be back to make a postseason push next winter.

“Oh, we’ll be back next year, hopefully in the same situation with a different result,” Bozzo said. “We left it all on the field. It was an historical season. You can’t take that away from these kids. We will learn from this and continue to grow.”

Division V

Sacred Heart Prep 7, North County 0 >> The Condors ran into one of the section’s elite programs, falling in their first CCS title match in school history.

The Gators, who have won five section titles — all either in Division III or IV — outscored three Division V playoff opponents 21-0.

Runner-ups in the Mission Division, North County set a school record for wins this year with 16, knocking off Oak Grove and Rancho San Juan in the playoffs to reach its first title game.

Making their first playoff appearance since 2011, the loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Condors (16-5-3). Isavela Valadez set a school record for goals with 31.