Ceres High’s varsity girls soccer team added to its undefeated streak this past week with a pair of victories in Western Athletic Conference play.

The Bulldogs improved to 12-0-0 overall and 8-0-0 in the WAC standings after shutting out visiting Grace Davis 8-0 on Jan. 22 at CUSD Stadium.

“I’m not surprised,” new coach Danny Barragan said. “These girls have been doing well the past couple of years. The chemistry is really good. They get along great. There’s no arguing or questioning. They’re doing everything they’re being told to do. I’m just trying to make sure they got the right mindset. Every game is important.”

Ceres High’s Jackie Ruiz scored a game-high four goals against Grace Davis.

Siriana Gudino had two goals.

Miranda Larranaga and Janessa Prado had one goal apiece.

Aaliyah Ruiz dished out two assists.

Kalyani Hermosillo, Ariannah Martinez, Daisy Duran and Jennifer Duran all collected one assist.

Ceres High bested host Lathrop 10-0 on Jan. 21.

Larranaga and Jackie Ruiz led the Bulldogs with three goals and one assist each.

Aaliyah Ruiz had two goals and three assists.

Hermosillo had one goal and three assists. 

Martinez had one goal.

Gudino made one save at goalkeeper.

Ceres High has outscored its opponents, 86-9, this winter.

“I’d like to give all the girls credit, not just the ones that score,” Barragan said. “To me, an assist is just as good as a goal.”

The Bulldogs are trying to secure their sixth straight playoff berth and second conference championship in program history this year.

Ceres High earned its first-ever postseason victory last winter.

 “We need to start prepping for playoffs,” Barragan said. “The one thing we need to improve on is moving the ball faster.”

CV  girls tie, lose

Eliminated from the race for a fifth straight conference title, Central Valley’s varsity girls soccer team is trying to keep its streak of consecutive playoff appearances alive this winter.

The Hawks remained in the hunt for a postseason berth after salvaging a 4-4 tie against the Patterson Tigers on Jan. 23 at Patterson Community Stadium.

Fifth-place Central Valley moved to 5-9-2 overall and 1-4-2 in the Central California Conference standings.

The top three teams in the CCC qualify for the playoff at the conclusion of the regular season.

 “We have to win all of our games,” senior forward Citlaly Salinas said when asked what her team needs to do to reach the postseason for the sixth year in a row. “I think we can do it. We have to try our best. You never know what can happen.”

Salinas accounted for all four of the Hawks’ goals versus the Tigers.

Adriana Huaracha, Angie Medrano, Michelle Soto and Alapdeep Singh all chipped in with one assist apiece.

“I tried to score every chance I had,” Salinas said. “My teammates gave me good through balls.”

Salinas scored the equalizer with less than five minutes to play in the game.

“I was just thinking we needed to win,” she said. “It was very exciting. Everybody came up to me and hugged me.”

Central Valley grabbed a 2-1 lead early in the second half before surrendering three straight goals.

“We didn’t give up,” Salinas said. “We really wanted to win. We didn’t but at least we tied. We’re happy. It was a crazy game.”

Central Valley lost 5-1 at El Capitan on Jan. 22.

The Hawks challenged the first-place Gauchos in the opening half.

Central Valley and El Capitan each scored one goal.

The Hawks never recovered after falling behind 3-1 after intermission. “We were actually winning 1-0 at the beginning of the game,” Salinas said. “The second half, they just scored more.”