Central Valley High School's varsity boys soccer team elevated its play in the second half and pulled away for a lopsided 4-1 victory over Ceres High on Thursday at Bulldog Stadium.
The defending Western Athletic Conference champion Hawks avenged a 2-1 loss suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs during the final day of the 2011 regular season. The setback snapped Central Valley's 22-game, conference unbeaten streak.
"We haven't won by this big of a margin in a while," Hawks head coach Omar Leon said while talking about the crosstown rivalry. "We controlled the game. We just made one mistake."
Central Valley improved to 15-1-2 overall and 4-0-1 in the WAC.
Ceres High dropped to 4-2-0 in conference play.
Hawk Omar Orozco provided a spark on offense. Orozco, the second-leading scorer on last year's team, tallied two goals. He missed part of the 2012 season with a calf injury.
"It effected me pretty bad," Orozco said. "I wasn't able to run or touch a ball for over a month. I'm 100 percent now."
"Today, he had a perfect game," Leon said. "He had his best performance of the year."
Central Valley teammates Ozzie Ramos and Diego Duran both scored once against Ceres High.
Goalkeeper David Saucedo made seven saves.
Cristopher Torres accounted for the Bulldogs' lone goal.
Abel Reyes totaled 15 saves.
Torres gave Ceres High a 1-0 lead when he blasted a shot into the left-side of the goal in the 23rd minute.
Orozco and the Hawks evened the score in the 32nd minute.
Central Valley put the game out of reach with a three-goal barrage in a 17-minute span during the second half.
Ramos converted a penalty kick after a Bulldog defender was whistled for a handball in the box.
Duran's close-range goal put the Hawks ahead 3-1 in the 55th minute. Central Valley's initial shot attempt was taken by Ramos. Ozzie headed Daniel Hernandez's long throw-in towards the back post. Diego tapped in the ball.
Orozco's second goal came in the 62nd minute. Omar chest trapped Juan Hernandez's pass and calmly finished.
"We turned things around as a team," Orozco said. "We had to bring our A game."
Daniel Hernandez was ejected from the game for yellow-card accumulation. He picked up a second yellow card for excessive celebration. Daniel ran onto the track area and lifted up his green jersey in front of Ceres High fans after Central Valley grabbed a commanding 4-1 lead. His undershirt read, "We run this town!"
Central Valley will play host to Ceres High on Oct. 22.
"I was hoping we would step it up more," Torres said. "I didn't think we'd lose that bad. They controlled the midfield. We tried to do the same. It didn't work out."
The defending Western Athletic Conference champion Hawks avenged a 2-1 loss suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs during the final day of the 2011 regular season. The setback snapped Central Valley's 22-game, conference unbeaten streak.
"We haven't won by this big of a margin in a while," Hawks head coach Omar Leon said while talking about the crosstown rivalry. "We controlled the game. We just made one mistake."
Central Valley improved to 15-1-2 overall and 4-0-1 in the WAC.
Ceres High dropped to 4-2-0 in conference play.
Hawk Omar Orozco provided a spark on offense. Orozco, the second-leading scorer on last year's team, tallied two goals. He missed part of the 2012 season with a calf injury.
"It effected me pretty bad," Orozco said. "I wasn't able to run or touch a ball for over a month. I'm 100 percent now."
"Today, he had a perfect game," Leon said. "He had his best performance of the year."
Central Valley teammates Ozzie Ramos and Diego Duran both scored once against Ceres High.
Goalkeeper David Saucedo made seven saves.
Cristopher Torres accounted for the Bulldogs' lone goal.
Abel Reyes totaled 15 saves.
Torres gave Ceres High a 1-0 lead when he blasted a shot into the left-side of the goal in the 23rd minute.
Orozco and the Hawks evened the score in the 32nd minute.
Central Valley put the game out of reach with a three-goal barrage in a 17-minute span during the second half.
Ramos converted a penalty kick after a Bulldog defender was whistled for a handball in the box.
Duran's close-range goal put the Hawks ahead 3-1 in the 55th minute. Central Valley's initial shot attempt was taken by Ramos. Ozzie headed Daniel Hernandez's long throw-in towards the back post. Diego tapped in the ball.
Orozco's second goal came in the 62nd minute. Omar chest trapped Juan Hernandez's pass and calmly finished.
"We turned things around as a team," Orozco said. "We had to bring our A game."
Daniel Hernandez was ejected from the game for yellow-card accumulation. He picked up a second yellow card for excessive celebration. Daniel ran onto the track area and lifted up his green jersey in front of Ceres High fans after Central Valley grabbed a commanding 4-1 lead. His undershirt read, "We run this town!"
Central Valley will play host to Ceres High on Oct. 22.
"I was hoping we would step it up more," Torres said. "I didn't think we'd lose that bad. They controlled the midfield. We tried to do the same. It didn't work out."
