STOCKTON — Weston Ranch High built up a three-goal cushion midway through the second half against visiting Lathrop on Monday.
The third-place Cougars held on for a 4-2 victory, in turn, keeping pace with the Valley Oak League leaders.
“We’re glad to pick the three points (in the standings with the win),” said coach Francisco Cisneros. “We knew Lathrop is a tough team, so we had to be ready.”
The Spartans (1-6-2 VOL, 4-10-3 overall) have proven to be better than their record. Despite being down 4-1 — the Cougars cashed in on Vidal Garcia’s penalty kick in the 55th minute — they were constantly on the attack in the second half.
“It’s been a matter of us playing strong for 80 minutes,” said Lathrop coach Alfredo Reynaga in summarizing some of his team’s woes for the better part of this season.
Sophomore forward Victor Enriquez, who just missed on an earlier shot attempt, found an opening in the 69th minute, connecting on the unassisted goal.
The Spartans had another scoring opportunity in the final two minutes but couldn’t convert.
Weston Ranch (6-2-1, 6-9-3) took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute, as Garcia booted the first of his two goals.
Robert Gonzalez, who had a hat trick of assists, set up Garcia on the play.
“I could see our wing (players) opening things up down the line,” he said, crediting his teammates for helping create the opportunities.
Lathrop tied the game up at 1-1 as Ronaldo Macias had an unassisted score in the 33rd minute.
The Cougars went back up shortly before the intermission. Elmer Figueroa’s kick took a favorable bounce, giving Weston Ranch with a 2-1 lead.
“That second goal was huge for us,” Cisneros said.
Weston Ranch made it 3-1 in the 46th minute. Gonzalez’s nicely placed corner kick resulted in Isaac Loza scoring on the header.
Despite trailing for entire second half, Reynaga praised his team’s effort during that stretch.
He also gave kudos to goalie Will Smith. “He’s been steady for us all year,” Reynaga said.