The Ceres High boys soccer team had a busy weekend.
"We took only 15 players and they played four games in a single day," said Ceres coach Joe Byrne.
With Victor Perez, Genaro Arana, Cleo Payne and Eduardo Aguilar leading the way, the Bulldogs placed second in a field of eight with a 2-1-1 record at the Sierra Soccer Cup, held at Sierra High School on Saturday.
"I thought we were very impressive in moving the ball around the field and opening up holes in the defense," Byrne said.
For the third year in a row, Ceres took home a trophy from the Sierra tournament. The Bulldogs took second in 2003 and first in 2002.
"We've been to the finals three years in a row at that tournament," Byrne said.
Perez won the "Golden Boot" award. The senior striker had nine goals and one assist.
"He was the highest goal scorer of any team in the tournament," Byrne said.
Franklin 6, Ceres 3
The Bulldogs took an early lead in the championship game but struggled the rest of the way.
"We had already played three hours of soccer without a whole lot of substitutes," Byrne said.
Ceres built a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute as Perez converted a penalty kick.
Franklin outscored Ceres 4-0 in the final 13 minutes of the first half.
"They had a couple of players up top that were really fast," Byrne said.
Ceres cut Franklin's lead to 4-3 in the second half.
Perez scored in the 34th minute off an assist from Payne.
Aguilar scored in the 42nd off an assist from Arana.
Franklin responded with goals in the 50th and 60th minutes.
Ceres 1, West 1
The Bulldogs would have played for the consolation championship if they lost to the Wolves.
"We had to have a win or tie to advance to the title game," Byrne said.
West took a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Perez evened the score in the 28th minute. He dribbled past four defenders and beat West's goalie.
"They had him marked pretty tightly but he managed to get one and had a couple rattle off the post," Byrne said.
Ceres 6, Skyline 0
Perez had four goals and an assist, Payne and Aguilar each had one goal, Arana had two assists and Chavez had an assist for the Bulldogs, who led 3-0 at intermission.
Perez scored both of Ceres' goals in the first half.
He scored in the 21st minute off an assist from Arana and in the 27th minute off an assist from Edwin Chavez.
Perez, Payne and Aguilar all scored once in the second half.
Perez scored an unassisted goal in the 35th minute and converted a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
Payne scored in the 45th minute off a pass from Perez.
Aguilar scored in the 52nd minute off a pass from Arana.
Ceres 4, Escalon 1
Arana had two goals and an assist, Perez scored twice and Alvaro Zuniga picked up an assist as the Bulldogs defeated the Cougars in the first round of the tourney.
Ceres put the game out of reach in the second half.
The Bulldogs scored twice in the span of 11 minutes.
"We took only 15 players and they played four games in a single day," said Ceres coach Joe Byrne.
With Victor Perez, Genaro Arana, Cleo Payne and Eduardo Aguilar leading the way, the Bulldogs placed second in a field of eight with a 2-1-1 record at the Sierra Soccer Cup, held at Sierra High School on Saturday.
"I thought we were very impressive in moving the ball around the field and opening up holes in the defense," Byrne said.
For the third year in a row, Ceres took home a trophy from the Sierra tournament. The Bulldogs took second in 2003 and first in 2002.
"We've been to the finals three years in a row at that tournament," Byrne said.
Perez won the "Golden Boot" award. The senior striker had nine goals and one assist.
"He was the highest goal scorer of any team in the tournament," Byrne said.
Franklin 6, Ceres 3
The Bulldogs took an early lead in the championship game but struggled the rest of the way.
"We had already played three hours of soccer without a whole lot of substitutes," Byrne said.
Ceres built a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute as Perez converted a penalty kick.
Franklin outscored Ceres 4-0 in the final 13 minutes of the first half.
"They had a couple of players up top that were really fast," Byrne said.
Ceres cut Franklin's lead to 4-3 in the second half.
Perez scored in the 34th minute off an assist from Payne.
Aguilar scored in the 42nd off an assist from Arana.
Franklin responded with goals in the 50th and 60th minutes.
Ceres 1, West 1
The Bulldogs would have played for the consolation championship if they lost to the Wolves.
"We had to have a win or tie to advance to the title game," Byrne said.
West took a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Perez evened the score in the 28th minute. He dribbled past four defenders and beat West's goalie.
"They had him marked pretty tightly but he managed to get one and had a couple rattle off the post," Byrne said.
Ceres 6, Skyline 0
Perez had four goals and an assist, Payne and Aguilar each had one goal, Arana had two assists and Chavez had an assist for the Bulldogs, who led 3-0 at intermission.
Perez scored both of Ceres' goals in the first half.
He scored in the 21st minute off an assist from Arana and in the 27th minute off an assist from Edwin Chavez.
Perez, Payne and Aguilar all scored once in the second half.
Perez scored an unassisted goal in the 35th minute and converted a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
Payne scored in the 45th minute off a pass from Perez.
Aguilar scored in the 52nd minute off a pass from Arana.
Ceres 4, Escalon 1
Arana had two goals and an assist, Perez scored twice and Alvaro Zuniga picked up an assist as the Bulldogs defeated the Cougars in the first round of the tourney.
Ceres put the game out of reach in the second half.
The Bulldogs scored twice in the span of 11 minutes.
