Central Valley’s boys soccer program leapfrogged a pair of teams on its way to climbing to fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference last week.

Ceres High bounced back after having its five-game unbeaten streak snapped.

“We moved up two spots in the league standings,” Hawks’ head coach Horacio Garcia said. “I’m happy to get the results to keep our (Sac-Joaquin Section playoff) hopes alive. We don’t want to be a team remembered for not making playoffs. The kids are focused on the goal.”

“I have confidence in my team,” Bulldogs’ leader Gilbert Zamora added. “They know how to play and win.”

Central Valley improved to 7-9-6 overall and 5-3-3 in the WAC with 2-1 win over Livingston on Thursday at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.

“At this point, we’re playing our best fútbol,” Garcia said. “We’re getting kids back from injury. I moved up three kids from JV and they’ve been big contributors to our success. I have more options on the bench.”

Alejandro Valencia and Jayden Rodriguez both tallied one goal versus the fifth-place Wolves (7-8-2, 5-4-2).

Samuel Lara and Miguel Gutierrez collected one assist apiece.

Hawk goalkeeper Osvaldo Cisneros totaled four saves.

Central Valley outscored Livingston 2-0 in the opening half.

“We knew it was an important game,” Garcia said. “I’m very satisfied with the win. The chemistry has been improving. That’s one of the keys to victory.”

Attacking midfielder Benjamin Sanchez and left winger Manuel Iniguez returned to the Hawks’ starting lineup.

Sanchez and Iniguez were previously sidelined with injuries.

“We’re starting to get our starting players back,” Garcia said. “They’re making an impact in how we play.”

Central Valley shut out Beyer 3-0 on Jan. 27 in Modesto.

The Hawks won the first meeting, 6-0.

“Once we went ahead 2-0, we decided to give everybody playing time,” Garcia said. 

Jayden Pires collected one goal and one assist versus the seventh-place Patriots (1-14-0, 1-10-0).

Willy Camarena and Dominic Gudino chipped in with one goal apiece.

Gutierrez dished out two assists.

Cisneros had one save.

Central Valley’s final three league opponents are Johansen, Lathrop and Ceres High.

“Every game has an impact on whether or not we make playoffs,” Garcia said.

Ceres High salvaged a 2-2 tie while competing against Pacheco on Thursday in Los Banos.

“It was a really good game,” Zamora said. 

Sixth-place Ceres High moved to 6-7-5 overall and 4-4-3 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

Second-place Pacheco moved to 8-3-6 on the season and 6-1-4 in league.

The Bulldogs remained in the hunt for a playoff berth.

“As a team, we’ve been progressing,” Zamora said. 

Leo Baez and Jesus Torrez both scored one goal for Ceres High.

The two teams battled to a 2-2 in tie in the opening half.

“It was up and down in the first half,” said Zamora, whose team battled back from a two-goal deficit. 

The Bulldogs and Panthers failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities after intermission.

“We both played better, defensively, in the second half,” Zamora said. 

Ceres High lost 3-1 to Lathrop on Jan. 27 at CUSD Stadium.

The Bulldogs never recovered after falling behind 2-0 versus the first-place Spartans (16-4-2, 8-2-1).

“We didn’t play our best game,” Zamora said. “We made some errors. We had three chances to score in the first half. We didn’t capitalize.”

Baez helped Ceres High avoid being shut out with a goal in the second half.

The Bulldogs competed shorthanded against the Spartans.

Forward Estevan Diaz and defender Max Arana missed the game due to illness.

“We were short on players,” Zamora said. “That cost us.”