Murtha's Final Ride

The Last Campaign Begins

Everyone knew it was the end. Paul Murtha announced before the season that his seventh year would be his last, and that knowledge hung over every practice, every pregame huddle, every timeout. The man who had built Aptos lacrosse from a one-win program into a five-time champion was coaching his final games. His departing roster fielded roughly 60 players across varsity and JV — a testament to the culture Murtha had built, where kids wanted to be part of something even when the results weren't guaranteed — but it faced a major challenge: replacing Tyler Sweeney-Marquez, the previous season's league MVP who had collected 169 ground balls and served as the backbone of the defense. Murtha called it "a big hole to fill."

Senior midfielder Nick Wameling, sophomore attacker Noah Wolfe, and senior captain Blake Kennerson stepped forward to carry the offense. Wameling and Wolfe had combined for 35 points through the first six games, while Kennerson brought club experience from a travel team. Defenders Vince Porporato, Michael Meidl, Jorge Martinez, and Sean Collins — who had been named the top defensive player at a Tahoe preseason tournament — anchored the back line. The Mariners entered league play as the favorites, with Soquel and Scotts Valley expected to challenge.

The regular season was defined by extremes. Aptos dominated weaker opponents, shutting out Harbor twice (15-0, 16-0) and blanking Latino College Preparatory Academy 12-0. Five times, the Mariners lost by a single goal — Pacific Grove, Saint Francis, Mitty, Soquel, Scotts Valley. Five games that could have swung the other way with one more stop, one more save, one more ground ball. It was the cruelest kind of season: talented enough to hang with anyone, but unable to finish. The Mariners also fell to Stevenson 3-13 and St. Mary's 6-12, revealing a gap between Aptos and the section's elite. By the end of the regular season, the 12-7 overall record included both blowout wins and agonizing near-misses. The Mariners' 213 total goals ranked fourth in program history — the offense was never the issue in Murtha's farewell campaign.

A Fitting Farewell

Whatever frustration had built up over those close losses, the Mariners channeled it into the final stretch. In a late-season game against Harbor on May 7, Aptos delivered a 16-0 shutout highlighted by goalkeeper Killian Smith scoring a rare goal to go with four saves. Noah Wolfe and Blake Kennerson each tallied three goals and an assist, while Edgar Gomez and Kordel Wilson scored twice each. The Mariners improved to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in league, heading into a showdown with Scotts Valley for the SCCAL title.

The late-season surge was exactly what Murtha needed heading into the postseason. His team had found the finishing gear it lacked all spring. In the semifinal, Aptos dismantled Scotts Valley 10-4 — the same team that had beaten them by one goal during the regular season. Wameling was dominant, scoring three goals and scooping three ground balls. It was a performance that erased any doubt about who the best player in the league was.

The championship game against Soquel was even more emphatic. Aptos rolled to a 13-4 victory, with Wameling contributing three goals, three assists, and four ground balls. It was a thorough reversal of the regular-season meeting, where Soquel had escaped with a one-goal win. The Mariners' final two games were their most complete performances of the year — the offense clicked and the defense smothered two quality opponents.

When the coaches met after the season, they voted Wameling the SCCAL's Most Valuable Player. The senior midfielder had finished with 45 goals — seventh-most in the Central Coast Section — along with 111 ground balls and 20 assists. Coach Murtha marveled at his versatility: “He wasn't just doing double-duty; he was doing triple-duty. On top of that, he was our high scorer.” It was, in Murtha's eyes, the most complete player he had coached in seven seasons.

Wolfe earned First Team All-League at attack, while Collins and Kennerson were named First Team as well. Wameling, carrying a 3.8 GPA, would go on to play attack at Division II Notre Dame de Namur University. He had started playing lacrosse a decade earlier at his father's suggestion, joining the Santa Cruz Warriors youth program — the same pipeline that had been feeding Aptos talent since the program's founding.

Five straight SCCAL championships. Seven seasons. One architect. When Paul Murtha walked off the field for the last time, he left behind something no coach in the league had ever matched.

The Goalkeepers

Sophomore Killian Smith manned the cage for the Mariners during a season of extremes — blowout wins and agonizing one-goal losses. In a 16-0 shutout of Harbor on May 7, Smith scored a rare goalkeeper goal to go with four saves, a moment that captured the fun-loving energy of a team that could dominate weaker opponents. Smith would go on to start in goal for three seasons, anchoring the defense through the program's transition from the SCCAL to the MTAL.

The Assistant