Playing in the Ripon Christian Tournament over the weekend, the Escalon varsity soccer boys brought home the title.
They started the week with a win and a loss before heading to nearby Ripon for the tournament action.
Head coach Paul Silva said the team lost to Modesto, 5-0, on Dec. 5 and then came back to beat Argonaut by an 11-0 margin on Dec. 6. Leading the team in that shutout win was Andy Alpizar with four goals, Raul Calderon had two goals, Luis Flores had a goal and two assists, Jacen Peoples had a goal and an assist. Aldo Yepiz, Carlos Diaz and Marcos Grajeda each had a goal.
In tournament play on Friday, the team started off strong.
“We beat Ripon Christian 9-0 in the first game, Alpizar had four goals and an assist, Flores had three goals and four assists,” noted Silva. “Jesse Gomez and Raul Calderon each had a goal.”
In the second game against Bradshaw Christian, the Cougars took a 3-1 win. Flores had a goal and two assists, Alpizar had a goal and an assist and Chris Valle added a goal.
“The championship game was against Orestimba, we won 5-3,” Silva said.
Flores had four goals and an assist, Gomez scored the other goal and Alpizar had two assists.
“Andy (Alpizar) was an All-Tournament Selection, Luis (Flores) was Tournament MVP,” Silva said.
Earlier preseason action saw the Cougars get a 5-2 win against Sonora, along with a 6-2 win over Amador. The wins came after a loss to Calaveras, 2-1, to open the preseason campaign.
JUNIOR VARSITY
It has been a busy preseason for the JV boys, with Polo Rodriguez returning as the head coach. They won their opener against Calaveras, 4-3, while still working on team chemistry.
“Dylan Pena had two goals, one with a great header off a corner kick from Dominic Murillo,” Rodriguez said.
A road game against Sonora went down as a forfeit win for the JV Cougars, as Sonora did not have enough players to field a team. Then the boys played Amador, hosting them and taking a 7-1 win.
Five different players scored goals for the JV squad including Isaac Patino, Steven Rodriguez, two each; and Co Northcutt, Dylan Pena and Angel Romero, one goal apiece.
They lost a home game to Modesto, 5-4, despite a hat trick from Yair Valerio. Then they traveled to play in the Ripon Christian Tournament.
“We lost our first game to Gregori, 3-0, on Friday morning and won against Riverbank 1-0 Friday midday,” said Rodriguez. “It was a real even game, both teams played well attacking and defending. Our only goal came from Yair Valerio.”
On Saturday, the JV Cougars faced off with Grace Davis and lost by a 2-1 final.
“We were tied until halftime and in the second half, going against rain and wind they got a ball through our defense and got the winning goal,” Rodriguez explained.
Co Northcutt tallied for Escalon in the loss.
