The Wildcats lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Aptos in the second round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs to face elimination.

Aptos, 14-3-1 for the year, will move on to the semifinals against Leland (11-7-3) on Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m., at Milpitas. Aptos entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and Leland was seeded No. 3.

Los Gatos, 11-5-4 for the year, was the No. 7 seed in the tourney, but the Cats gave the Mariners all they could handle before losing by a single goal last week.

"[Los Gatos was] unable to recover from a first-half goal despite dominating play in the second half," said Gatos coach Jan Eric Nordmo.

The Wildcats outshot the Mariners 7-3, but one of the three Aptos attempts—by Brittany Driscoll at the 30-minute mark—found its way into the goal.

Nordmo praised the efforts of Cats Corynn Carino, Allison Thomas and Cheryl Parkman, but he added that "Aptos keeper Lis Lahman kept Los Gatos attackers Ashley Dix, Carly Stavis and Katie Bonadies out of the goal."

The Wildcats had opened the tournament with a solid 4-1 win over San Benito. Bonadies scored a first-half goal off a Monica Rude assist to give the Cats a 1-0 lead at intermission.

The Haybalers scored a goal in the second half, but Gatos bombarded the San Benito net with three goals. Dix scored off Rude's second assist on the day, Stavis scored off a Morgan Branon assist and Dix scored again, this time off an assist from Ashley Benson.