Ceres High School's varsity girls soccer team nearly upset Patterson last week.

The visiting Bulldogs lost 1-0 to the playoff-bound Tigers on Thursday.

"They played their hearts out," said Ceres High head coach Miguel Saldate, whose team suffered a 2-0 loss while battling the Tigers earlier this season.

The fifth-place Bulldogs dropped to 3-6-1 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

Third-place Patterson improved to 7-1-3 in WAC play.

Bulldog goalkeeper Giselle Madrigal tallied a season-high 18 saves in defeat.

"She was blocking everything," Saldate said.

The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the 20th minute.

"The last 10 minutes of the game was very intense," Saldate said. "But we couldn't score."

Ceres High competed shorthanded as starters Arcelia Hermosillo, Angelica Slater, Dominique Koeurn and key substitute Gabriella Blandino were sidelined for various reasons.

Hermosillo was visiting a college in the Los Angeles area.

Slater and Koeurn were absent because of family commitments.

Blandino missed the game for a school-related reason.

Ceres High 4, Pacheco 0
Ceres High shut out Pacheco 4-0 on Tuesday, April 15 in Los Banos.

Laura Espinoza collected two goals.

Victoria Andrade and Allyson Hailey both contributed one goal.

Giselle Madrigal totaled three saves.

"We dominated from start to finish," Saldate said.

Bulldogs 1, Wolves 1
Ceres High lost 3-0 at Livingston on March 18.

The Bulldogs and first-place Wolves battled to a 1-1 tie on April 10 in Ceres.

"Our communication and touching was better," Saldate said.

Madrigal made eight saves.

Koeurn accounted for the Bulldogs' lone goal.

Ceres High led 1-0 at halftime.

Dominique scored in the 25th minute.

Livingston (7-1-2) evened the score in the 48th minute.

CC 5, CHS 2
Ceres High challenged host Central Catholic for a half before suffering a 5-2 loss on April 8.

"It was back and forth in the first half," Saldate said. "The girls got a little tired in the second half."

Madrigal had 18 saves against the second-place Raiders (8-0-1).

Jacqueline Gonzalez scored both of the Bulldogs' goals.

Ceres High trailed 3-2 at the break.

The Raiders outscored the Bulldogs 2-0 after intermission.

Ceres High lost 2-0 to Central Catholic on March 13.

Eliminated from playoff contention, Ceres High has two games left on its schedule.

The Bulldogs will compete against Los Banos and Central Valley.