Submitted photo – The St. Bernard’s girls celebrate their playoff clinching win at South Fork on Wednesday night.

The Del Norte Warriors capped an historic regular season in girls soccer with a 2-0 win at Ferndale on Wednesday, while conference rivals St. Bernard’s and South Fork will join them in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.

The Warriors had already clinched the program’s first-ever conference pennant outright, but they closed out conference play strong with their sixth win in nine Little 4 games.

Also on Wednesday, St. Bernard’s traveled to Miranda and defeated South Fork 4-2 to ensure playoff eligibility.

The Cubs also are eligible for the postseason, courtesy of their record against Division-3 teams.

The Warriors had to play without standout team captain Alexis Aguirre, who missed the game after receiving a red card last week, but Jaden Bennett  filled in well in her absence.

Bennett set up the opening goal with a nice cross for Lillie Franklin, who finished well to give the Warriors the lead late in the first half.

Lilianna Ramirez added an insurance goal in the second half.

The midfield trio of Bennett, Aurora Mitchell and Lily Schaad combined well together and paved the way for the victory.

“As far as our midfield movement, it was one of the best games they’ve had,” Del Norte head coach Shawn Eckart said, “They were moving the ball really well.”

The center defensive pairing of Hollyn Wakefield and Kalynn Schaad also impressed and paved the way for the shutout.

“Their defensive partnership was working flawlessly today,” the coach added.

The conference championship guarantees the Warriors a home playoff game when the NCS tournaments get under way next week.

Del Norte will play in the Division-1 bracket, with the seeds and matchups to be announced over the weekend.

Their conference rivals St. Bernard’s and South Fork also are playoff eligible and will be included in the Division-3 bracket.

Malia Masayos and Eliana Sellars each netted twice for St. Bernard’s in Wednesday’s win, as the Crusaders overcame a one-goal halftime deficit with a big second-half performance.

“I thought we played really well in the second half,” SB head coach Jeff Sellars said. “In the first half, our offense and midfield was fairly successful, we just needed to make some defensive adjustments, and once we made them we looked more composed at the back.”

Masayos and Eliana Sellars both caused the South Fork defense problems throughout the game, while teammate Cadence Figas worked hard on the left wing and did a good job providing service for her teammates up front.

Amber Smith and Alyssa Boham both also continued to impress in midfield.

“They both controlled the passage of play really well,” Jeff Sellars said of Smith and Boham. “I thought our passing sequences were really on point.”

Hannah Savio and Kendall Kercher each scored in the opening half for the Cubs, who closed out conference play third in the standings.

The wet conditions affected the game.

“I thought the elements got the best of us,” South Fork head coach Ann Constantino said. “We lost our focus in the second half and they kept pouring it on, and we couldn’t contain it.”

Goalkeeper Aurora Galaz saved a second-half penalty kick for the home team and continued to play well with seven saves for the game.

Midfielder Kara Worswick and defenders Aubrey Young and Kamea Hawkins all had good games for the Cubs, as did Kercher on the left wing.

“We played a great first half,” Constantino said. “It’s just the elements overcame us in the second half.”