Weston Ranch coach Francisco Cisneros could sense the frustration mounting from his Cougars in the first half of their Valley Oak League match at Oakdale on wednesday.

Sloppy and sometimes-physical play along with missed scoring opportunities led to the irritation, but Oakdale’s failed attempt on penalty kick late in the first half helped spark Weston Ranch in its 2-0 win.

Gabriel Ramirez’s PK would have gotten past Weston Ranch keeper Eddie Acosta (three saves) had it not grazed off the crossbar. The miss helped give the first-place Cougars (6-0, 13-3-3 overall) life.

“We felt (the foul that resulted in the PK try) was a questionable call,” Cisneros said. “After the miss, it seemed to energize our team. At halftime I told them we played one of our worst halves of the season but we were still tied against a very good team. In the second half they settled down. They came out sharp.”

Omar Centeno broke the ice early in the second half, netting his follow-up shot after his initial strike was blocked by the Oakdale keeper. Minutes later, Kevin Medina was fouled on a breakaway inside the penalty area and converted the ensuing PK for the insurance goal.

Weston Ranch was so dominant in the second half that goalie Jose Martinez didn’t have a single shot on frame to save.

“It was a good experience,” Cisneros said. “When things are not going your way and the frustrations start to set in, these guys were able to overcome their emotions a little bit and started playing soccer.”

The Cougars end the first half of league play at Sierra. They are now 11-0-2 since the start of the second half of last season.

“It’s a good spot to be in,” Cisneros said. “If you told me at the beginning of the season we’d be 6-0 at this point I would have said, ‘No way,’ not with the teams we have to face in league.”



Sierra 8, Central Catholic 0

Eriq Kurys had three assists, and seven different Timberwolves (2-2-2, 6-9-3) scored in Wednesday’s rout at Daniel Teicheira Memorial Stadium.

Jonathan Vargas scored twice, while Anis Guedoir, Joel Vargas, Kevin Mendiola, Zimri Rico, Alejandro Barboa and Coby Hong buried one goal each.



East Union 11, Kimball 0

Gerardo Romero racked up his second hat trick of the season, doing all of his damage in the 15th, 21st and 39th minutes of the opening half at Dino Cunial Field.

James Rendon struck for two goals in the first half. The Lancers (3-2-1, 5-2-2) led 7-0 at halftime.

Contributing to the onslaught were Alejandro Sanchez, Gustavo Vasquez, Luis Serrato, Eric Flores, Sunny Hernandez and Bryce Lew with a goal apiece.