Central Valley High School's junior-varsity boys soccer team dropped three of four games at the Pitman tournament during the preseason.
The Hawks bounced back in a big way, winning their final 13 games.
Central Valley compiled a perfect 8-0 record en route to a first-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. The Hawks had to settle for runner-up honors a year ago following a 1-0 loss to third place Ceres High. Central Valley finished one point behind league-champion Patterson.
"We were one win away last year," Hawks head coach Rafael Fernandez said. "We had to work on our chemistry and defense. Luckily, we fixed everything."
The Hawks beat the Bulldogs twice this year, including 3-0 on Oct. 22 at Central Valley.
Central Valley's Edward Calderon, Ramon Ruiz and Robert Perez scored in the 35th, 50th and 60th minutes, respectively, against Ceres High (4-4) last week.
Andres Calderon and Alverto Rodriguez both collected one assist.
Ruiz, Central Valley's goalkeeper, totaled four saves.
The Hawks notched their sixth straight shutout thanks in large part to the play of tri-captains Ruiz, Victor Yepez and Jorge Alvarez.
Central Valley defeated Ceres High 2-0 earlier this season.
"We had a very strong defense all year," Fernandez said. "We were very disciplined."
Central Valley, 14-3 on the year, reached its goal.
The Hawks captured the WAC championship in impressive fashion.
"It's not by luck," Fernandez said. "That's what we aimed for. Everyone contributed in their own way from starters to the bench. I'm very proud of them."
Fernandez relied on all of his players, including JV returnees Alvarez, Edward Calderon, Andres Calderon, Victor Yepez, Kevin Yepez, Jorge Bustos, Eric Morales, Freddy Bravo and Anthony Carrillo.
The Hawks bounced back in a big way, winning their final 13 games.
Central Valley compiled a perfect 8-0 record en route to a first-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. The Hawks had to settle for runner-up honors a year ago following a 1-0 loss to third place Ceres High. Central Valley finished one point behind league-champion Patterson.
"We were one win away last year," Hawks head coach Rafael Fernandez said. "We had to work on our chemistry and defense. Luckily, we fixed everything."
The Hawks beat the Bulldogs twice this year, including 3-0 on Oct. 22 at Central Valley.
Central Valley's Edward Calderon, Ramon Ruiz and Robert Perez scored in the 35th, 50th and 60th minutes, respectively, against Ceres High (4-4) last week.
Andres Calderon and Alverto Rodriguez both collected one assist.
Ruiz, Central Valley's goalkeeper, totaled four saves.
The Hawks notched their sixth straight shutout thanks in large part to the play of tri-captains Ruiz, Victor Yepez and Jorge Alvarez.
Central Valley defeated Ceres High 2-0 earlier this season.
"We had a very strong defense all year," Fernandez said. "We were very disciplined."
Central Valley, 14-3 on the year, reached its goal.
The Hawks captured the WAC championship in impressive fashion.
"It's not by luck," Fernandez said. "That's what we aimed for. Everyone contributed in their own way from starters to the bench. I'm very proud of them."
Fernandez relied on all of his players, including JV returnees Alvarez, Edward Calderon, Andres Calderon, Victor Yepez, Kevin Yepez, Jorge Bustos, Eric Morales, Freddy Bravo and Anthony Carrillo.
