The Mariner High boys soccer team raises its sixth straight district championship trophy. CJ HADDAD

For an astonishing sixth consecutive year, the Mariner High School boys soccer team is district champion.

The Tritons (10-7-5) turned in a dominating 3-0 win over rival Cape Coral (10-8-4) Wednesday night to hoist the FHSAA 5A District 11 championship.

Mariner long-time head coach Martin Cardenas is no stranger to district championships or a winning culture, as the Tritons have made the playoffs, or better, in the majority of his decades at the helm.

“It doesn’t take anything from the next one. It keeps getting better and better,” Cardenas said of the club’s success. “It’s a great group of guys and they love being out here. And it shows.”

The Tritons scored their first of the night in the 6th minute when senior Gabe Chica led senior Marcel Tovar up the middle of the field with a great ball and Tovar made his run. Chica’s pass originated behind midfield as Tovar stayed on-side and was off to the races. The senior made no mistake as he approached the Seahawks keeper and put it past him to get the ball rolling early.

The Mariner High boys soccer team won its sixth straight district championship trophy. CJ HADDAD

“My type of play is high-speed,” Tovar said. “Coach has been telling me to just wait for the right one. And I saw the ball coming through and I knew I had to use my speed and get it through the net. It was an amazing feeling. I knew it would bring our team up in the moment.”

Mariner tacked on its second goal moments after the first half water break. With the Tritons attacking from less than 20 yards out, a shot off the boot of Tovar was stopped by a sprawling Erwin Quintanilla, though the rebound sat right on the doorstop. Mariner junior Lucas Tarra dashed towards the net, as it was a race between he and Quintanilla for the loose ball. Tarra beat his man and tapped the ball past the goal line to put Mariner up 2-0.

The third and final goal arrived in minute 53, when sophomore Justin Corbalan’s throw-in found junior Frank Garcia streaking along the right side of the penalty area. Feeling pressure from Cape defenders, Garcia sent a high and lofting centering pass to the far-left corner, where Maximo Gorosito fought through his man to get a leg on the ball and flicked it past the keeper.

When the final whistle sounded, the six-peat was reality.

Cardenas said he’s proud of the way his team performed and it’s been improving all year. A tough schedule may not produce the most polished regular season record, but the play on the field has still been of quality, and that’s all that matters when the postseason rolls around.

“A lot of our ties, a lot of our losses, was just us missing opportunities,” Cardenas said. “Really, I think we got out-played once this year. Today, they were focused. The chances we created, we capitalized on. That’s all we ask of these guys. If we get a couple goals, I think our defense can hold most teams down.”

Cardenas said over the course of the season, he’s played with different formations to get guys ready for whatever circumstances they may face. As for their “identity” — it’s tough to say exactly what that is.

“We’ve actually asked that questions of our guys,” Cardenas said. “I think they’re still growing…I think our identity is our youth. The younger kids are pushing the older guys, especially in practice. They come in and work hard. Our fitness level — you’re not going to see guys cramping in our games. They have grit and just keep going.”

So, what’s the key to success moving forward in hopes to make an appearance in yet another regional final?

“It’s the same thing we’ve been preaching all year — we want to be better than we were yesterday,” Cardenas said. “If we play well today, let’s hope the next game we play even better. We have a tough region with some Naples teams — but we can give them a game and make it interesting for sure.”

Mariner has earned an automatic bid into the state tournament with a district championship. Cape still has a chance to make the tournament based on FHSAA seedings, that will come out this week.

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