Submitted photo – The Eureka Loggers were crowned Big 4 champions on Tuesday.

The Eureka Loggers are Big 4 champions for the third straight year after a dramatic final day of action on Tuesday.

The Loggers came into the final day tied atop the conference standings with Fortuna, but a 1-0 win over McKinleyville, coupled with a Fortuna loss to Arcata by a score of 3-2, was enough to make surethey took home the championship.

Eureka winning the league title may not seem like that much of a surprise to local fans, but the fact that such a young team came together as quickly as it did after losing so many talented seniors from a year ago should.

And that’s a testament to the work first-year head coach Melania Valdez and her staff has done with such a young group of players.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” Valdez said. “There was a lot of doubt with us being such a young team and we had lost a lot of talent that is now playing in college, but they absolutely put in the work to get there.”

With Arcata topping Fortuna earlier in the day, the Loggers only needed a tie to secure the championship, but their defense held firm and shut out a dangerous McKinleyville attack that has caused problems for all of its league opponents this fall.

Grecia Ortiz netted the only goal of the game in the first half, and that was all the Eureka girls needed.

“I think what has impressed me the most with this team was the amount of growth they had, not just as individuals but as a team,” the Eureka coach added. “They’ve really been able to come together and support each other and play as a team.”

The Eureka players also stepped up their game as the season went on.

With three games to go, they trailed the Huskies in the standings by two points, but they would go undefeated over their final three games, including notching back-to-back one-goal wins to close out, while the Huskies closed out with a tie and back-to-back losses.

“Looking back at the entire season and how far we’ve come, I’m incredibly impressed,” Valdez said. “And I’m so proud of these girls.”

The Eureka seniors, from, left to right, Angelina Conant, Lorena Hernandez and Paige Rodgers.

The Huskies’ loss was a disappointing way to close out the regular season, although head coach Arnulfo Aguirre and his players could get another shot at their league rivals in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.

“It just kind of seems like we started out good, but in the last week it hasn’t been going our way,” he said. “I’ve got to figure out what’s going on and get that fixed before the playoffs.

“We’ve got to get back to basics to try and find new strategies.”

It was senior day for the Loggers and a talented class of Angelina Conant, Lorena Hernandez and Paige Rodgers was honored before the game.

All three of them had a big impact on the team this year and in Tuesday’s game.

“They made such an immense impact on the girls and on the team,” Valdez said of the influential trio. “We have a young squad and they helped guide my young girls.

“They are incredible girls and I appreciate all of their work on and off the field.”

Despite seeing the conference championship slip through their hands over the final two weeks, the Fortuna girls still have plenty to play for as they look to win the program’s second NCS championship and a first since 2018.

And Aguirre believes his players have the resilience to achieve that.

“No matter how it’s going we have a never-back-down attitude and they keep fighting to the end,” he said. “It’s a group of girls that want to win.”

The Arcata Tigers, meanwhile, are now unbeaten in four straight conference games and will carry plenty of momentum into next week’s NCS playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Tigers got goals from Ada Kinziger, Zalayshia Velazquez and Anna Gruetzmacher, while impressive freshman Jozlyn Dahl scored both of Fortuna’s goals.

First-year Arcata head coach Mathew Ingram was impressed with how his players closed out the regular season, especially after falling 3-0 to Fortuna the last time they played each other.

“So proud of the team for fighting through adversity,” he said. “I think we have hit our stride on offense.”

In addition to the strong play from the forwards, Arcata goalkeeper Sonja Vevoda-Wahlig had a big impact once again and has played a key role in her team’s late-season surge.

“(She) played smart in goal today attacking Fortuna’s offense with confidence,” the coach said of the standout shot stopper.

The NCS playoff seeds and brackets will be announced this weekend.