Ceres High’s varsity girls water polo team had to settle for a split against Western Athletic Conference competition this past week.

“I’m happy with how they’ve done,” veteran head coach Stephen Dias said. “They’re young. They’re still learning.”

Fourth-place Ceres High improved to 2-2 in the league standings after defeating Pacheco 19-10 on Thursday in Los Banos.

“We should be 3-1 right now,” Dias said.

The Panthers never posed a threat.

“I was able to play all of my girls plus four JV players,” Dias said. 

Emily Wolff scored a game-high eight goals for the Bulldogs.

Elise Cannella and Andrea Contreras tallied four and three goals, respectively.

Allison McAdams had three goals.

Makayla Estermann added one goal.

Host Ceres High lost 10-8 to Johansen on Sept. 17.

The Bulldogs led 6-4 at the break.

Johansen outscored Ceres High 6-2 during the second half.

“We should have won,” Dias said. “There were some interesting kickouts. I think the girls are motivated to beat Johansen next time.”

BOYS RESULTS

Ceres High’s boys water polo team also won one of its two conference matches last week.

The fourth-place Bulldogs pounded Pacheco 18-10 on Thursday in Los Banos.

“They played perfect,” said Dias, first-year head coach. 

Nicholas Campbell led Ceres High with eight goals.

Brian Ayala totaled seven goals.

Ryan Baranski, Cruz Fee and Cayden Jantz all had one goal.

Ceres High lost 16-5 to visiting Johansen on Sept. 17.

The Bulldogs moved to 2-2 in WAC play.

“I was hoping to be 3-1 at this point,” Dias said. “There’s room for them to grow. They’re in a transition phase. The biggest change is learning to run plays instead of relying on the fastbreak.”

Ceres High will compete against Mountain House on the road tomorrow.

The varsity girls and boys matches will begin at 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.