Juan Diego Morales scored the tying and winning goals in the closing minutes for Lathrop, which escaped Livingston with a 2-1 boys soccer victory on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Julian Ceja then came up with his ninth save at the end of the match to secure an important result with postseason implications on the line. The Spartans (6-4-2, 9-7-4 overall) are now in third place in the Western Athletic Conference ahead of Livingston (5-5-2, 8-7-2), Grace Davis (4-6-2 WAC) and Ceres (4-7-1) and Beyer (4-8) with two games remaining. The top-three placers garner automatic playoff berths.
Livingston scored first early in the second half and nearly rode out the lead until the end.
Lathrop committed numbers forward with a formation change, and the pressure finally paid off. At the 73rd minute, Morales stole the ball from a center back and dribbled around the goalie for the tap-in score.
Livingston accumulated several late yellow cards, which resulted in three minutes of stoppage time. The Spartans capitalized and scored on the final minute, as Morales put away the winner with the assist coming from Angel Barajas.
Lathrop heads to first-place Central Valley on Thursday and finishes the regular season next Tuesday at home against Beyer.
Manteca 0, Mountain House 0
Playing the role of spoilers, the Buffaloes (1-7-2, 2-17-3 overall) came away with the Valley Oak League road draw behind Leo Garcia’s first shutout of the season.
They had chances to steal the win in the second half on golden opportunities from Prospect Afanyu and Jesus Ayala. With an automatic playoff berth on the line, Mountain House (4-4-2, 9-10-3) needed to win to keep pace with second-place East Union and third-place Sierra.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
East Union 54, Central Catholic 31
Visiting Central Catholic (3-6 VOL, 9-13 overall) shot out to a 9-4 lead at Dalben Center, but the Lancers (9-1, 19-6) locked down defensively the rest of the way.
They broke away from a 14-14 tie by outscoring the Raiders 14-2 in the second quarter and 9-5 in the third.
With standout forward Zyondupree Beasley out with an illness, East Union had three players in double figures. Shebra Rezaye led the way with 15 points, including three 3-points. Ava Barrera added 12 points, Alessandra Montes had 11 and Jerney Luckett scored eight.
Carsyn Lomeli-Garcia paced CC with 18 points.
Ripon 33, Orestimba 26
In Newman, the Trans-Valley League-leading Indians (8-0, 15-9 overall) allowed just two points in the second quarter for a 13-7 halftime lead, and they were able to ride it out from there.
Ripon’s balanced attack was headed by Kaylee Lehmkuhl and Shayla McKeon, who tallied seven points apiece. Lauren Peters added six.
Olivia Gray scored seven points for Orestimba (3-4, 11-10).
Lathrop 43, Johansen 14
The host Spartans (4-7 WAC, 11-14 overall) put together one of their most dominant wins to keep their postseason hopes alive. They shut out Johansen (0-10, 6-18) in the opening quarter and led 16-4 at halftime.
Eight of Lathrop’s 10 available players scored. Shakara Porter led them with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Kirat Sidhu (eight points, two rebounds), Faith Allen (six points, three rebounds) and Jaleiyah Ray (six points, seven rebounds were other key contributors. Kira Davis provided good energy off the bench, finishing with two points, four rebounds and three steals.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Ripon 62, Orestimba 42
Leading 31-22 at halftime, the host Indians (7-1 TVL, 15-9 overall) widened the gap with a 17-8 third quarter.
Marcus Madoski netted 17 points, as 10 different Ripon players scored. Logan Lefebvre scored 12, while Gino Calderara and Tanner Hickman had seven each.
Devon Bell led Orestimba (1-7, 6-17) with 15.
JV boys soccer
Manteca 0, Mountain House 0
Brandon Ramirez recorded one save in the Buffaloes’ shutout draw. Luis Lucas put one shot on goal.
JV girls basketball
East Union 50, Central Catholic 16
East Union’s Jedah Haywood and Lucija Dayeh poured in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Kymoni Beasley contributed with nine points, and Savannah Lopez had seven.
Lathrop 39, Johansen 20
Zoha Ali registered 12 points and five assists in the lopsided win. Lathrop (10-1 WAC) led 15-3 after the first quarter.
Aaliyah Thompson chipped in with nine points and five steals. Kalea Rogers added eight points.
Frosh girls basketball
Lathrop 48, Johansen 24
The Spartans (10-1 WAC) were led by Kaliyah Urrutia, who scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half. She also had five rebounds and two assists.
Ishaan Singh produced nine points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Brittny Valladares pitched in seven points, three steals and two assists.