Opening up the week hosting the Mountain House Mustangs on Jan. 15, the varsity soccer Cougars took a 4-0 win off the soccer field.
“We scored two in the first half, two in the second half,” said head coach Paul Silva.
Guillermo Alvarez got the scoring started, finding the net with the assist from Nolan Rockwell. Armando Gonzalez notched the second goal, Alvarez getting the assist. Then it was Alvarez again, scoring off an assist from Jonathan Valeriano and Hector Rodriguez added the final tally of the day, with Mario Zurita getting the assist.
Oscar Gonzalez had three saves.
“We possessed the ball well; they didn’t have too many chances,” Silva noted.
The varsity went on the road Wednesday, Jan. 21 for a game at Modesto Christian and roared out to a 6-0 halftime lead on the way to a 10-1 victory.
Alvarez had five goals for the varsity Cougars, with single goals coming from Daniel Tapia, Zurita, Jose Mendez and Arnold Soto converting on a penalty kick.
“Oscar made one save in goal when he was goalie in the first half,” explained Silva. “I put him on the field for the second half and he scored a goal.”
Alvaro Plascencia had two saves in the second half for Escalon.
“It was a pretty straightforward game,” Silva said.
Friday, the boys were home and suited up for their third contest of the week. It was their third win of the week as well; this time taking a hard fought 6-4 victory.
“We were up 4-1 at the half, their goal came on the last kick of the first half and changed the momentum,” the coach said.
A penalty kick called against the Cougars early in the second half also made a difference, Silva added.
“The first half was the best we’ve played all year,” he said. “But we conceded a penalty kick early in the second and that made our defense a bit more hesitant. I felt that our level of play dropped off in the second half.”
Escalon scored two goals in the second half to Hughson’s three but held on for the win.
Alvarez had two goals and two assists, Rodriguez had two goals and an assist, Armando Gonzalez had a goal, Tapia had a goal with the assist from Jose Mendez.
“Oscar Gonzalez had three saves,” Silva said.
The varsity was scheduled to play at Hilmar on Monday, after The Times went to press, closing out the first half of TVL action. Their bye is on Wednesday, with second half action starting next Monday, Jan. 29 against Riverbank.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Monday’s game against Mountain House ended in a 2-2 tie for the JV soccer boys, their first contest in Trans-Valley League play that didn’t go in the win column.
“Ricky Erazo scored both goals,” said head coach Polo Rodriguez. “Rodolfo Galvan had an assist, C.J. Borrego had an assist.”
Clay Evans had five saves in goal for the JV squad.
“They got a last minute goal,” Rodriguez said of the visiting Mustangs forging the tie, adding that it was a “sloppy game” by his team.
It wasn’t a loss but the fact that the JV boys didn’t get the win fueled their fire for a Friday game at home against Hughson, the coach added.
“Definitely, that was a boost,” he said.
They poured it on against the Huskies, the JV team taking a 7-1 win off the field.
Gustavo Hernandez had three goals, Emiliano Ramirez had a goal and an assist, Erazo chipped in with two goals, Moises Grajeda had a goal and an assist. Evans had four saves as the JV team got back on the winning track.
The team was scheduled to be at Hilmar on Monday, Jan. 22 to close out the first half of league play.
