Central Valley’s varsity boys soccer team dropped its Central California Conference opener 2-1 to Patterson on Jan. 3.

The Hawks bested Merced and Atwater by a combined nine goals in CCC play this past week.

“We bounced back,” coach Omar Leon said. “We’re on the right path of having a good season. We need to start winning more games in order for us to have a chance at playoffs.”

Central Valley improved to 9-3-2 and 2-1-0 in the CCC standings after shutting out visiting Merced 6-0 Thursday evening in Ceres.

“It was very competitive until we scored a couple of goals,” Leon said.

Isaiah Castillo led the Hawks with two goals.

Gerardo Flores tallied one goal and one assist.

Roberto Pelayo, Javier Villanueva and Edivaldo Yepez all contributed one goal.

Rigoberto Trujillo dished out two assists.

Joel Arellano and Victor Torres each had one assist.

Central Valley goalkeeper Erick Martinez totaled eight saves.

“Everybody feels more confident when he (Martinez) plays back there, along with center defenders Gilberto Flores and Cesar Grajeda,” Leon said. “They’re very reliable. It’s one of the main reasons we haven’t been scored on a lot.”

Central Valley scored twice in the first half on its way to cruising to a 4-1 win against host Atwater on Jan. 8.

Flores’ hat trick (three goals) propelled the Hawks past the Falcons.

Castillo collected one assist.

Martinez made five saves.

Central Valley opened the CCC season with a 2-1 loss to Patterson on Jan. 3.

Central Valley will compete against El Capitan this Thursday in Merced.

The league game will begin at 3 p.m.

“We’re improving,” Leon said. “This is the most complete team I’ve had in several years. We have versatile players. That gives us a lot of options.”