LATHROP — The Lathrop High girls soccer squad seemed hardly intimidated against one of the top teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Spartans, in fact, played loose and had fun in routing the Vikings at Bennie Gatto Field on Wednesday, 6-0.
No one more so than junior forward Kassandra Ceja, who accounted for all the goals.
"She's on fire," said Lathrop coach Jose Montes of Ceja's scoring outburst.
Johansen (3-1-1, 5-1-2 overall) was undefeated coming into the WAC match and trailed WAC-leading Beyer by two points in the standings. But that quickly changed.
In the first two minutes, Ceja took a pass from Isa Paniagua, nailing the goal to give the Spartans (4-2 WAC, 5-5-1) a quick 1-0 lead.
At the 16-minute mark, she scored on a breakaway.
Montes credited his defense — led by Paniagua and Cydney Garcia — for keeping Johansen in check throughout the game.
"We made some (recent) changes," said Montes, who has been more than pleased with the results.
He added: "They're playing hard in practice, having fun and trusting in each other."
Lathrop led 2-0 at the intermission, adding more in the second half.
Ceja gave her team a 3-0 advantage with a goal at the 42nd minute.
At the 45th minute, she made it 4-0 with another breakaway goal.
Aryanna Jones, who was credited with four assists, delivered one between a pair of defenders, with Ceja in the 53rd minute to increase the lead, 6-0.
Finally, in the 61st minute, she delivered the final punch, using multiple crossover moves for that icing-on-the-cake goal.
"This is the first time (Lathrop) has had a four-win season in league," Montes said.
His team is currently in third place in in its first season in the WAC after arriving from the powerhouse Valley Oak League.
"We're playing with so much confidence," he said.

Junior Varsity
Johansen 3, Lathrop 1
The Vikings won the early game, dictating the tempo while getting past the Spartans.