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Hawks win for coach
CV girls dominate CHS in second half, prevail 4-1
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Jackie Sanchez (pictured right) celebrates with Hawk teammate Jocelyn Lopez after scoring a goal against the Bulldogs. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Unbeaten in Western Athletic Conference play, Central Valley's and Ceres High's varsity girls soccer team faced off this past week.

The Hawks competed without their head coach.

Central Valley junior-varsity leader Orlando Barba filled in for Maria Briones, who missed the contest to tend to a family emergency.

"Coach Briones made a phone call to the team before the game," Barba said. "The girls were really motivated to get the win for Maria and her dad."

The Hawks earned crosstown bragging rights with a 4-1 win over the visiting Bulldogs on Jan. 17 at the Turlock Regional Sports Complex.

"It being a rivalry game, it means more," Barba said. "Both teams came into the game undefeated. It was a really good game in the first half. It just happened to be us to pull away."

Jackie Sanchez scored once and dished out three assists to lead Central Valley (11-1-1, 5-0-1).

Citlaly Salinas, Sarah Silva and Mixtly Vega chipped in with one goal apiece.

Amanda Calvo tallied one assist.

Hawk goalkeeper Emely Lopez totaled six saves.

Miranda Wilds scored for Ceres High (5-3-3, 4-1-0).

Siriana Gudino and Angelmarie Coral had eight and three saves, respectively, while splitting playing time at goalkeeper.

Central Valley outscored Ceres High 3-0 during the final 40 minutes.

"We weren't taking enough shots in the first half," Barba said. "We were holding on the ball too long."

Salinas and Wilds accounted for their respective teams' goals in the opening half.
"Ceres scoring first woke us up," Barba said. "After that, we played our game and showed our talent. We saw some tendencies their defense had and our girls did a good job exposing them. I was pretty confident we'd come back."

Barba attributed Central Valley's slow start to the unexpected coaching change.

"They're used to hearing Briones' voice on the sidelines," Barba said. "The girls really like and respect her. They feed off her energy. They adjusted really well to me. I appreciate their effort. I'll support Maria and the team in any way I can."