Kicking off their week with a shutout win on the road, Escalon also got past Calaveras by a single goal at home, winning a pair of preseason contest this week.

The Cougars put three scores on the board on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Amador and kept the Buffaloes from hitting the back of the net, winning 3-0. Scoring for Escalon were seniors Jairo Duran and Ulisses Ramirez along with junior Chris Gallo. Duran added two assists and junior goalkeeper Ismael Gonzalez had four saves in the win.

Thursday, the team was on their home field and fell behind Calaveras 1-0 in the first half, then cashed in on a pair of goals over the final 40 minutes to earn a 2-1 win.

Senior Carlos Cruz and freshman Guillermo Alvarez each scored a goal in the contest, with senior Mario Rosales and Alvarez each notching an assist. Gonzalez got the start in goal and had three saves, one goal against in 50 minutes of work. Fabricio Gallo came on for the final 30 minutes of the game and had three saves as well.

Coach Paul Silva was pleased to get a pair of preseason wins, especially earning a shutout on the road and battling back from an early deficit on the home field to capitalize late on a Calaveras mistake and get the go ahead goal.

The junior varsity team, meanwhile, split its games this week. They brought a 2-0 win home from Amador with goals from Mario Zurita and Daniel Tapia, an assist by Edgar Larios.

Thursday, it was a tougher game, the young Cougars unable to get much going against a powerful Calaveras team. They ultimately fell to the visitors by a 5-1 final.