Ceres High School's varsity boys water polo team won a pair of Western Athletic Conference matches in nail-biting fashion this past week.
"It was nerve racking," Bulldogs head coach Tracy Bull said. "I was a little worried."
Ceres High edged winless Pacheco 14-12 on Thursday in Los Banos.
"Pacheco wouldn't quit," Bull said. "Give them credit."
Tim Campbell poured in a team-high six goals.
Bobby Baranski added three goals.
Fernando Olmos and Tristan Freitas-Scott both contributed two goals.
Logan Kier had one goal.
Blake Borba totaled 17 saves.
The Bulldogs and Panthers battled to a 5-5 tie in the first half. Ceres High erased an early 3-1 deficit.
Campbell had three goals and Freitas-Scott added two during a key 5-0 run in the second half.
Ahead 12-11, Baranski increased Ceres High's lead to 14-11 with back-to-back goals.
Ceres High earned a hard-fought 6-5 win while battling host Livingston on Oct. 13.
"It was a great game," Bull said. "They made it a defensive struggle."
Borba had 18 saves.
Campbell scored twice.
Baranski, Freitas-Scott, Kier and Xavier Camarillo all tallied one goal.
Ceres High outscored Livingston 3-0 in the first period on its way to building a 4-2 lead in the opening half.
Baranski's goal on a counter gave the Bulldogs a 6-4 lead with 3:54 remaining in the game.
The third-place Wolves cut the deficit to 6-5 at the 1:26 mark.
"We played smothering defense and they never got off a shot in the last 90 seconds," Bull said.
Second-place Ceres High improved to 4-1 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
Livingston and Pacheco dropped to 2-2 and 0-5, respectively.
Ceres High will play at fourth-place Los Banos (1-4) this Thursday.
"If we lose, we're on the outside looking in," Bull said while talking about the Bulldogs' playoff chances.
Bulldogs 7, Panthers 4
Ceres High School's varsity girls water polo team snapped a three-match losing streak after edging out Pacheco 7-4 on Thursday in Los Banos.
The victory also helped the 2-3 Bulldogs double their win total from a year ago.
Ceres High compiled a 1-7 record on its way to a last-place finish in the 2014 WAC standings.
Bulldog goalkeeper Camryn Elness totaled 12 saves versus the Panthers.
Kaitlyn Foster led Ceres High in scoring with three goals.
Julia Pata tallied two goals.
Annie Connors and Noelia de Leon both had one goal.
Ceres High lost 5-3 at Livingston on Oct. 13.
Foster, Pata and Ashley Schmidt all scored one goal.
Elness had nine blocks.
BOYS SOCCER
Central Valley High School's varsity boys soccer team won one of two games to remain in the hunt for the WAC's fourth and final playoff berth.
The Hawks shut out El Capitan 2-0 on Wednesday in Merced.
Central Valley earned three points for the victory.
The Hawks (3-5-0, nine points) trailed Pacheco (7-1-0, 21), Livingston (7-1-0, 21), Patterson (6-2-1, 19) and Ceres High (4-5, 12) in the conference standings as of Sunday.
The top four teams in the WAC will participate in the playoffs next month.
Angel Aguilar and Angel Lopez both scored once against El Capitan.
Angel Arellano collected one assist.
Central Valley goalie Jose Yepez had two saves.
Central Valley lost 4-2 to Pacheco on Oct. 12 in Ceres.
Aguilar and Andres Velasquez accounted for the Hawks' two goals.
Yepez and Enrique Garcia tallied two and three saves, respectively, while splitting playing time at goalkeeper.
GIRLS GOLF
Ceres High School's varsity girls golf program will be staging a fundraiser tournament this Wednesday.
The inaugural Lady Bulldogs Red & White Invitational Golf Extravaganza will be staged at St. Stanislaus Golf Course.
The nine-hole tourney will get underway at 3:30 p.m.
"It's to showcase the girls program and we're going to try to make a little money," Ceres High co-head coach Dave Fry said.
A total of 32 people will participate.
Ceres High players Abigail Nou, Hannah Smith, Monika Ramirez, Savanah Beltran, Rose Sammons, Alissa Atchison and Natalia Cortez will be paired with members of the community.
