Ceres High School's varsity girls water polo opened the 2015 Western Athletic Conference season this past week.

"They were pretty excited to get in the water," Bulldogs head coach Stephen Dias said. "We had a lot of practices. It wears you down."

Ceres High routed visiting Pacheco 19-8 on Sept. 29.

"It was a pretty one-sided game," Dias said. "I was able to rotate all of my players in."

Bulldog standout Julia Pata poured in a game-high nine goals.

Ashley Schmidt had three goals.

Annie Connors and Kaitlyn Foster chipped in with two goals apiece.

Alyssa Coker, Lindsey Oliveira and Camryn Elness all scored one goal.

Elness, Ceres High's goalkeeper, totaled 12 saves.

Ceres High lost 11-4 to defending WAC-champion El Capitan on Thursday.

Oliveira and Schmidt led the Bulldogs in scoring with two goals each.

Elness made eight saves.

"Even though we lost, we played a good game," Dias said. "They have a strong team. They got good tactics and speed."

The Bulldogs posted a 1-7 record on their way to a last-place finish in the WAC a season ago.

"We had a lot of talent last year, but not unity," Dias said. "The girls have done some things to bond as friends. They have a different mindset."