If there was any doubt as to whether the Cerritos College men's soccer team was going to be able to score, they put that to rest with their 7-0 season-opening win at Citrus College on Tuesday. The Falcons (1-0-0), who missed the playoffs last year for the first time in 11 years, found themselves stuck on the freeway on the way to the game when their bus broke down. The match was pushed back 45 minutes, but that didn't seem to bother Cerritos, who jumped on the board 20 minutes into the game.
The seven goals were the most by a Falcon team since an 8-2 South Coast Conference win over Pasadena City College in 2014.
They held a solid 2-0 lead at intermission, but broke the game open with five second half goals, including two in :15 seconds and three in the span of 3:48. On the first goal, freshman Luis Garcia (La Habra HS) lined up for a free kick that deflected off an Owls (1-2-0) player and into the net. Continuing to push the pace of the game, sophomore Edwin Corona (Cathedral HS) needed just :26 seconds to put the team on top 2-0, as he received a lead pass from Garcia and chipped the ball past goalkeeper Jorge Quinones Guerrero.
Balancing out their offensive prowess, Cerritos clamped down on defense and limited Citrus to just a pair of first half shots and none in the final 45 minutes. By contrast, the Falcons finished with 20 shots, as five of their 11 attempts in the second half found the back of the net.
Freshman Adrian Becerra (Morningside HS) gave the team a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute, while Corona finished off the hat trick with the team's next two goals. Becerra recorded his second of the game in the 65th minute, with freshman Kevin Martinez (Pioneer HS) closing out the scoring in the 76th minute.
Freshman goalkeeper Hernan Perez (Pioneer HS) recorded the shutout and made one save.
Cerritos will now travel to Hartnell College for a tournament and open with a 1:00 p.m. game against Las Positas College on Friday.
Photos by Andrew Wheeler - Citrus SID
