It was a fast-paced week of soccer for the varsity Cougar boys and it featured a little bit of everything.

Head coach Paul Silva said his squad got a win, a loss and a tie in preseason play.

“It started with a home loss to Manteca on Monday (Dec. 1),” Silva said. “The final score was 6-1, we got off to a slow start and they took advantage by scoring four goals in the first 15 minutes.”

Escalon conceded a fifth goal in the first half, but played better in the second half, allowing just one more tally. However, the host Cougars could only score one, with Adrian Velazquez notching the goal.

“Wednesday was away to Modesto and the final score was 3-3,” Silva said. “A well-played game with lots of intensity, which was a polar opposite of the Manteca game.”

Scoring goals for Escalon were Co Northcutt, Damian Morales and Brody Abbott.

“Thursday we were away to Argonaut and we won 5-2,” the coach noted of putting the game in the win column. “Another well-played game, we controlled the tempo of the game from the start to up until the last five minutes and conceded two goals at the end.”

Abbott paced the team with three goals, scoring the hat trick, while Damian Morales scored as well.

“But the goal of the match was a 40-yard rocket by Isaac Patino, a truly spectacular shot,” explained Silva.

The busy week ended with the Cougars sporting a 3-1-1 overall record, including earlier preseason wins on the road against Linden, 3-0, and Riverbank, 2-1.