The Central California Conference got a little shaken up on Monday after Turlock High’s soccer squad was able to defeat second place Atwater in what was an impressive outing from the Bulldogs.

With the home crowd behind them, the Bulldogs were able to net five goals — and hold on to the lead despite two late goals from the Falcons — en route to a 5-2 victory.

“Things are very close in league now, there is only three points between second and fifth place,” Turlock head coach Doug Sperry said. “If we can continue to play well, I think we have a great shot at making playoffs.”

With two of Turlock’s captains returning from injuries—Martin Castorena and Robert Saldana—the Bulldogs knew they could compete against the Falcons, however, co-captain Jonathan Lopez was out of the game due to an injury sustained last week.

Missing, this time, only one of their three captains, the ‘Dogs seemed more comfortable on the field and it was Mason Harps opening goal in the sixth minute that triggered the offensive outburst for Turlock that would dominate the Falcons.

The first half was tense until the closing minutes when Jose Aguilera blasted two late first half goals to put his team up 3-0 at the halfway mark.

Atwater obtained  a red card about 10 minutes into the second and were forced to play a man down. Quickly another goal was added on by Aguilera—his third of the day to complete the hat trick.

Playing one man down, Atwater was able to squeeze out some offense as they netted two goals to cut the lead to 4-2 in the closing minutes.

Turlock’s Jonah Knopp drained the fifth and final goal of the game as he secured the victory for his team.

While Pitman holds a solid lead in the CCC, Turlock needs to win out in order to have a chance at the postseason with only three games remaining (all league contests).

The Bulldogs will travel to Golden Valley as the game begins at 4 p.m. today.