Atwater shares wealth in rout of Turlock

Most teams would have been elated with a 6-0 drubbing in their conference opener.

The Atwater boys soccer team barely batted an eye on Tuesday afternoon.

Sure, there were goal celebrations after the Falcons routinely carved up the Turlock back line with precision passing or well-timed counters over the top. But the Falcons’ focus and intensity, both toward each other and their opponent, rarely wavered during the 80 minutes at Falcon Field.

Jimmy Brewer’s squad has big plans this season, so any moment of selfishness or perceived lack of hustle was called out and corrected until the final whistle blew.

“We can’t have any of that,” said Atwater sweeper Alex Rios, who finished with a goal and an assist. “This year, it’s all about what’s good for the team. I think it helped.

“Today, we started touching the ball a lot and made good runs throughout the game. We argued a lot less than usual and communicated really well.”

Atwater (11-0-1, 1-0 Central California Conference) turned in a near flawless performance as it opened its CCC title defense.

Six different players found the back of the net as the Falcons displayed their depth and versatility. The defense was equally sound, not allowing a Turlock (3-6-1, 0-1 CCC) shot until the 79th minute to earn a rare shutout. Perhaps most important to its coaches, Atwater got out in front early and never allowed the Bulldogs a foothold in the game.

“Our energy was good today,” Brewer said. “We talked to the kids at halftime about the second wave coming in. We didn’t want there to be a drop off in play when we rotated our bench in. I think there was one, but it gives us something to continue to shoot towards.

“Guys spread the ball around. We’re almost too selfish at times, but I was overall pleased with how we played.”

Gerardo Delgadillo opened the scoring on the first shot of the game in the fifth minute. The sophomore striker was allowed too much space down the left wing and slipped a shot past Turlock’s Luis Carrillo at the near post.

Christian Fuentes doubled the lead nine minutes later, unleashing a right-footed blast from 25 yards out to make it 2-0.

Rios and striker Eduardo Cebrero helped double that lead before the break, with Rios catching the Bulldogs back line flat footed on a pair of long passes from the Atwater defense.

Cabrero had his first chance turned away in the 17th minute, but Brandon Alvarez was first to react, burying the rebound. Cebrero finished what he started just before the half, chasing down a Rios long ball and unleashing a left-footed rocket into the far post.

Luis Lopez and Rios left no doubt, each joining the score sheet with second-half goals.

Merced 4, Buhach Colony 0 in Merced – Eric Portillo, Adrian Lomeli and Adiyan Garcia all found the back of the net as the Bears (6-1-3, 1-0 CCC) opened league play with a home rout of Buhach Colony (3-8, 0-1 CCC).

Juesus Cuevas made four saves to earn a shutout for Merced.

Pitman 6, Golden Valley 0 in Turlock – Blowouts ruled the opening day of league play as the Cougars (6-1-1, 0-1 CCC) suffered their first loss of the season.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Atwater shares wealth in rout of Turlock."