Hosting Galt to open up the week on Tuesday, Dec. 13 the varsity Escalon Cougars ended in a 2-2 draw with the visitors in soccer action. They then came back with a strong second half effort to take a win on Thursday.

“Jesse Gomez scored our first goal with an assist from Andy Alpizar,” head coach Paul Silva said of the game against Galt. “Luis Flores scored from the penalty spot to put us up 2-1. We conceded the tying goal with five minutes to play.”

The contest was one of missed opportunities, added the coach.

“Lots of chances to score throughout the game but we couldn’t finish,” he explained.

Thursday, at home, the Cougars took a 6-2 decision over Buhach Colony.

“Luis Flores led the way with four goals, while Jesse Gomez scored the other two,” said Silva.

The game was knotted at two goals apiece at the half, necessitating a much better focus for the Cougars over the final 40 minutes.

“Poor first half effort by us,” agreed Silva. “Much better effort in the second half allowed us to finish the game with a comfortable win.”

The boys were scheduled to play at Denair on Monday and go to Summerville on Thursday as they continue the preseason schedule.

JV

The young Cougars split their games on the home pitch this week. They lost to Galt and defeated Buhach Colony.

The game with Galt on Tuesday went in the books as a 5-3 loss for the Escalon JV boys.

“Yair Valerio scored all three goals with assists from Dylan Pena, Co Northcutt and Juan Carranza,” said head coach Polo Rodriguez. “Thursday, also home, we won 2-0 with goals from Yair Valerio and Dylan Pena, a close game with both goals obtained in the last 15 minutes of the game.”

The JV boys are only scheduled to play at Summerville this week, wrapping up the preseason with the Dec. 22 contest.