CERES – An idle Manteca High squad left the Sierra Timberwolves all alone in first place of the Valley Oak League after Sierra’s 3-0 win over the Ceres Bulldogs Tuesday.

Sierra (11-1-2 VOL, 15-5-2 overall) wasted little time getting in front of the Bulldogs, scoring in the game’s 12th minute on an unassisted goal from Joanna Ortiz. The goal would send Sierra into the intermission with a 1-0 lead, but the Timberwolves would add to it in the opening minutes of the second half.

“We definitely didn’t do a very good job of possessing and moving the ball when we needed to,” Sierra head coach Manuel Pires said. “We had too many first touches got away from us. The weather didn’t help, but we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing.”

The Timberwolves got a goal from Delaine Quaresma on a corner kick from Nicole Bettencourt, and finished up the scoring when Sydnee Koscielecki nailed a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Sierra will have to shake off the sluggish play and get motivated for a crucial stretch run.

“Eighty minutes was way too long for the way we played,” Pires said. “We didn’t play all that well. We got out of there with a win, and that was our goal, but we have to refocus for our next game and finish the season strong.”

LATHROP – It was all Lancers in their VOL matchup with Lathrop Tuesday. East Union had little difficulty taking down the Spartans, jumping out to an early first-half lead behind goals from Megan Howley and Stephanie Sabala to cruise to the win.

“I was really pleased to see the things we’ve been working on in practice,” East Union head coach Jim Todd said. “The passing, communicating and finishing were all good for us in this game.”

Kayla Lamont added a goal for the Lancers and dished out an assist, as did her sister Kianna Lamont.

WESTON RANCH – The Mustangs proved themselves early with a score in the first minute and a 4-0 lead after just over 20 minutes of action.

Janally Juarez netted the frist goal of her career and Marissa Bradshaw would add two in the Weston Ranch loss.

“We came out a little slow and those first-half goals could have been prevented,” Cougars head coach Carlos Gaspar said. “After that, we kept up with them and played well. The score shows that we got smashed, which was really not the case.

“Oakdale is a very good team; we just gave up too many goals at the beginning.”

RIPON – The Riverbank Bruins could not field a full team, but that did not stop Ripon High from producing an impressive round led by Andrew Bonner’s 1under par 30 to lead the Indians’ team-round of 178 Tuesday at Jack Tone Golf Course.

Josh Richter came in behind Bonner with a 34, while teammates Zach Capel and Mark Bigelow both contributed 38’s. Ripon’s Nick Ratto rounded out the Indians’ scorecard, also with a 38. Tuesday’s round was the first time Ratto landed a spot on the team’s top-5 scorers.

“Nick played a consistent round of golf,” Ripon head coach Chris Musseman said. “He’s been practicing really hard out her for a while, so it was good to see him put together a solid round.

“I was really happy for him.”

Bonner’s medalist-earning round on the front nine was complete with eight pars and one birdie on hole No. 5.    
 

CERES – The Timberwolves raced off to victory behind a two goal performance from Asia Cortez Tuesday in VOL action.

Jacquelin Revives also scored a goal for Sierra.

The Timberwolves will be back on the pitch Monday, when they host the Lathrop Spartans for the season finale.

OAKDALE – The Timberwolves were tangled in a close 3-1 battle through five innings, but Oakdale was able to put things out of reach with a pair of runs late, in the two team’s Valley Oak League action Tuesday.

Josh English tossed five innings for Sierra, keeping the Timberwolves in the contest with a competitive outing. Mason Merilles drove in Sierra’s only run with an RBI double.