A win and a tie both went on the books for the varsity soccer boys at Escalon High School this week.

The squad first hosted San Juan of Citrus Heights and defeated the visitors, 2-0 on Dec. 10.

“It was 0-0 at halftime,” said head coach Paul Silva. “About 10 minutes into the second half, Jose Mendez sent a laser to the top corner, the assist came from Guillermo Alvarez and it was just a beautiful shot.”

Five minutes later, the Cougars made it 2-0, this time with the goal from Alvarez.

“The assist came from Jonathan Valeriano, the pass was amazing, it was a 40-yard through ball that Guillermo took in the air,” Silva explained.

The coach added that the score might have been more lopsided had it not been for some outstanding work by the San Juan goalie.

“He was amazing,” noted Silva.

For Escalon, Oscar Gonzalez played the entire game in goal and made seven saves to preserve the shutout for the Cougars.

Thursday, Dec. 13 at Summerville, the Cougars tied the host Bears 0-0.

“It was a game where their defense was very organized; we had some opportunities but we had difficulty breaking down their defense,” Silva explained.

Not to be outdone, the coach said the Escalon defense played a strong game as well, this time with Clay Evans suiting up in goal and making five saves.

“Our positioning was tremendous,” said Silva.

The JV boys had just one game this week, traveling with the varsity to Summerville and coming away with a 2-0 win, scoring a pair of second half goals.

“Willyan Vargas scored on a 40-yard free kick and did a great job of tying down the midfield while playing the defensive midfielder role,” said Chris Oliveira, who stepped in this week to coach the JV boys. “Edgar Manzo scored on a penalty kick. Brayan Barrientos did a great job in goal, but I was really pleased with how the entire team played.”

Trans-Valley League action kicks off for the Cougars this week; they were slated to play at Ripon on Tuesday, Dec. 18 after The Times went to press and will be at Livingston on Thursday, Dec. 20.