Just four days after upsetting the state's top-ranked team, Mt San Antonio College, the Cerritos College men's soccer team fell victim to El Camino College on Tuesday, as they posted a 3-1 win. The loss to the Warriors (4-4-2, 2-1-1) snapped a five-game unbeaten streak by the Falcons (6-2-2, 2-1-0) and a chance to move ahead of their rival Mounties. Cerritos will look to turn things around on Friday at 4:00 p.m. when they host East Los Angeles College.
Claudio Rodriguez got the Warriors on the board first in the 19th minute with a bouncing strike that beat freshman Brett Hughes (Long Beach Wilson HS) to the short left side. El Camino lost their starting goalkeeper, Nolan Dean before a collision in the 36th minute forced him out of the game. Backup Chris Mellone filled in and made four saves in his 54 minutes of action, including an outstretched stop late in the game to keep the Falcons from cutting the lead to one.
Cerritos stayed within striking distance until the 69th minute when the Warriors got behind the defense on a three-on-two breakaway. Shaun Nagano dribbled along the left side of the field and then sent a right-footed low cross through the box and past the diving Hughes and onto the foot of a driving Carlos Marquez who tucked it into net for a 2-0 lead. They put the game away in the 81st minute with their third goal.
But the Falcons showed why they were one of the top-ranked teams in the state with a furious charge in the final nine minutes plus five of extra time. The Falcons peppered the Warriors goal with shot attempts and finally got on the board in the 87th minute when freshman Jose Rivera (Torrance HS) sent a corner kick to freshman Jeffrey Payeras (Animo HS), who scored the goal.