Manteca and Los Banos were locked in a scoreless tie for more than 70 minutes Saturday before Adriel Vega took a pass from Julian Oregel for the lone goal of the night in a 1-0 Buffaloes win to wrap up the two-day Buffalo Collegiate Showcase at Guss Schmiedt Field.
“I saw the ball and a space in front of me,” Vega said. “He (Oregel) has given me balls like that before and I figured he would play me, I was prepared for it.
“He played a good ball. I got the ball, I dribbled, I saw the defender was coming at me pretty fast so I cut back and I just got it into the goal.”
Alberto Gutierrez kept his sheet clean for Manteca (6-3-2) with seven saves.
“When I saw the ball I just tried to extend and get the save,” Gutierrez said. “I was on my game today and was really happy with my performance.
“Hopefully the colleges that were here today like what they saw.”
Buffaloes coach James Burns was pleased with his team’s rebound from a 2-1 loss to Emerald of Dublin on Friday.
“This team just continues to find ways to remain competitive,” Burns said. “We weren’t very good on Friday, and I think they could sense my disappointment with their performance, and today was a much better effort.
“When we are grinding like that and fighting, playing defense first, we are a better team, and we took steps forward today, especially with league right around the corner.”
Manteca opens Valley Oak League play Tuesday afternoon at Oakdale at 5:15.
East Union 6, Emerald 0
Behind the hot foot of Sac-Joaquin Section leading scorer Yandel Gutierrez, the Lancers (10-2-1) rode the hot foot of Yandel Gutierrez to a 5-0 lead over the Aeronauts (2-6-1) of Dublin.
Yandel, who had 16 goals and four assists in nine games, tallied five goals and an assist. C.J. Silva added the other East Union goal with David Tafolla chipping in two assists with Carlos Heredia, Brandon Escamilla and Nathan De La Cruz adding an assist apiece.
East Union travels to Patterson at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday to open the VOL schedule.
Lathrop 5, Ripon 0
Leading 2-0 at halftime, the Spartans (8-2-1) built on their lead in the second half.
“We played a different formation to try things out before the season starts,” Lathrop coach Alfredo Reynaga said. “I thought the boy responded well. We were able to use a lot of our depth and still maintain control and that was promising.
“Ripon did not adjust to the 3-5-2 formation so we continued to utilize it in the second half and were able to stay in control of the game. We had over 15 shots on goal.”
Andres Hurtado-Garcia posted a brace and an assist for the Spartans with Diego Alvarez (assist), Victor Salvador and Santiago Ceja each adding a goal. Eduardo Torres and Manuel Solorio both had an assist.
Lathrop opens Western Athletic conference play Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. by hosting Pacheco.
The Indians (2-8-2) kick off Trans-Valley League play Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. when they go across the street to Ripon Christian.
