Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville’s Leah Circe, right, battles for possession during Saturday’s game.

It may have ended a little earlier than hoped for, but it’s a season the McKinleyville Panthers won’t easily forget.

On Saturday, the Mack girls lost 2-0 to Credo in the North Coast Section Division-I soccer playoffs, closing out a campaign that saw some huge results for the program.

Head coach Adam Canepa’s players posted a memorable tie against Eureka early in league play, while also handing Big 5 champs Arcata its only loss of the year.

And that game will likely be remembered at Mack High for some time, as no one seems certain when was the last time the Panthers beat the Tigers in girls soccer.

“I don’t know if that’s ever happened,” Canepa said.

Junior standout Soffia Reyes played a major role for the team all season and was outstanding once again on Saturday, and a driving force behind most of her team’s opportunities.

Sophomore Elizabeth Mengel also impressed with her work rate and has shown tremendous improvement as the season has progressed.

McKinleyville’s Elizabeth Mengel, right, in action on Saturday.

Likewise with goalkeeper Caitlyn Canepa, another sophomore who made a spectacular save in the opening minutes to keep her team on level terms.

“I thought we had a really successful season and I am so proud of how hard the players worked and came up with some big wins,” the head coach said.

Saturday’s game was tied 0-0 at halftime.

“I thought we played with a lot of heart, and we played really hard,” the coach added. “It was a fun game to watch.”

Credo will advance to play Arcata in Wednesday’s semifinal round.

Soffia Reyes