The 2019-2020 soccer season got underway this past week when the Oakdale High School varsity Mustangs defeated Manteca in the regular season opener. On Thursday, Dec. 12 the boys traveled to Manteca to take on the Buffaloes in the Valley Oak League match where the Mustangs were victorious, 3-0.

“It was a solid game all around. Manteca is a very good team but the boys battled in the second half for a big win,” said Oakdale head coach Alfredo Quiroga.

The two teams battled it out on a slippery field and went into the break scoreless.

In the second half Oakdale got things going when Alfie Harris found the net on an assist from Kaleb McDonald. Minutes later McDonald scored a goal on an assist from Marcos Hercules. The final goal of the night came from Kevin Camelin as Harris notched an assist. Riley Blount had five saves for Oakdale.

“Even with the wet field the boys played through it and figured things out in the second half. We made some mistakes but we are fortunate that it did not cost us in the end,” said Quiroga.

Tuesday, Dec. 17 the boys had their home opener as they took on East Union. The match was held following The Leader’s press time. Oakdale is also scheduled to host Sierra on Thursday night, Dec. 19.

Junior Varsity - The junior varsity boys defeated Manteca 4-1 behind Alfredo Fernandez’s two unassisted goals. Fernandez also earned an assist when he found Carter Sturtevant. Miguel Garcia capped off the scoring with a goal assisted by Juan Martinez. Goalkeeper Vince Peterson had three saves.