The JV and varsity girls for Escalon could not play their scheduled Trans-Valley League opener this past week; the soccer field at Riverbank where they were to play was under water.

The game has been rescheduled for a later date.

In Escalon, the JV boys had a similar fate, as only one field was useable and the varsity squads for Riverbank and Escalon utilized that to get their TVL game in on Thursday, Jan. 5.

“It was supposed to be an away game but their field wasn’t playable so we hosted,” explained Escalon varsity coach Paul Silva. “Only varsity though as our JV field was in rough shape.”

The varsity Cougars and Bruins battled to a 2-2 draw in the league contest.

“We were up 2-1 at the half. We played really well in the first half and should have had a bigger lead, but we were wasteful in our finishing,” admitted Silva.

Luis Flores put in both goals for the host Cougars and both were assisted by Andy Alpizar.

“Second half we lost our rhythm and initiative, allowing Riverbank to equalize,” Silva said. “Not the start we wanted for league, but grateful to get the game in as many teams weren’t able to. We are tentatively scheduled to be away to Hilmar (Jan. 10) and home on Thursday (Jan. 12) against Hughson.”

Escalon stands at 8-3-2 overall and is 0-0-1 in league. The JV boys were 6-4 during the preseason campaign.

For the girls, the varsity Lady Cougars compiled a 3-9 mark during the preseason with wins over Millennium, Amador and Calaveras and the JV girls have also put some wins on the books, both squads hoping to get started in league play soon.

Escalon Athletic Director Andrew Beam said it has been tough for the soccer season in the Trans-Valley League all the way around in the early going.

“As of right now, we have painted a third field, off of Stanislaus Street,” he said of adding another option. “We will continue to try to play our homes games on the fields we have. Ripon’s field has been unplayable, Riverbank has had games canceled because of their field as well. Things are week by week, day by day right now. But we are doing our best to get our boys and girls soccer teams their games.”