The Turlock High boys varsity soccer team has completed a first-half sweep of the Central California Athletic League slate.

In a highly anticipated meeting between the Bulldogs and crosstown rival Pitman High on Thursday night at Joe Debely Stadium, senior Fernando Carbajal scored multiple goals in the second half for a consecutive match to help lift Turlock to a 4-1 victory and maintain its undefeated record against conference opponents.

Now 5-0 in CCAL play and 7-2-4 overall, the Bulldogs hold a two match advantage over the second-place Pride in the conference standings with five games remaining in the regular season.

“We came in with the mindset to come out, play hard, play as a team and just communicate and have each other's back throughout the whole game,” said senior Mario Chavez, who scored Turlock’s first goal of the night. “We just  work nonstop, keep playing to the final whistle, and that's how we got our result. We're very happy with it.”

The Bulldogs found themselves down early, when Pitman senior Giancarlos Nakamura dribbled through four defenders in the box before sending the ball into the net in the 15th minute.

Chavez promptly responded. Just under 10 minutes later, Carbajal delivered a perfectly placed corner kick into his possession. Chavez gave an easy tap of the ball to tie the ballgame. Then, in the 33rd minute, senior Sebastian Chahal gave the Bulldogs their first lead with a cross strike to the left corner of the net.

“I think me getting that goal just helped improve our intensity and kept our heads up,” Chavez said. “We knew we had to keep scoring to win the game.”

And that’s exactly what Turlock, particularly Carbajal, did. In the opening stages of the second half, Carbajal pushed the ball into the box and drew a penalty. He proceeded to nail the attempt to make it a 3-1 match. In the 63rd minute, Carbajal found himself behind the back line and easily netted his second score. They were his team-high sixth and seventh goals of the season.

“I’m super comfortable taking PKs,” Carbajal said. “As soon as the penalty was called, I grabbed the ball. I’m taking it. That helped… This team, we practice a lot of conditioning and it just translates to the game where we can’t stop scoring.”

The Turlock defense, consisting of the likes of juniors Michael Cardozo and Mauren Beckes, as well as seniors Snayder Saravia and Eric Sambrano, kept the Pride at bay for most of the second half, though senior goalkeeper Kevin Ramirez was enlisted to make two critical saves.

“Our back line is great,” said Turlock assistant Jimmy Carbajal. “I can't tell them much, other than positioning. They're very aggressive, their timing is really well, but they do sometimes get out of position. That's when it hurts us. But as long as we stay focused and we are in position, we make the right plays.”

The Bulldogs will begin the second half of the CCAL slate at 7:30 p.m. Monday against Modesto High (9-7-4, 1-3-1 CCAL) from Chuck Hughes Stadium on the campus of Downey High School. Fernando Carbajal is confident that his team will maintain its perfect league record through the remainder of the season, saying they are “not going to lose a single game.”

To accomplish that, Jimmy Carbajal kept the plan simple: “We stay focused. They already went far last season (Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals), and they know what it takes to get there. They can't lose focus, and they can't take it easy. They know that they have to work hard for every game, every win. That's what they've done, and that's what they'll continue to do. 

The Pride will return to Pitman High at 6 p.m. Tuesday, looking to get back into the winner’s circle against Enochs (8-5-1, 1-3-1 CCAL).