Locked in a 3-3 tie with Los Angeles Harbor on Friday, the Cerritos College men's soccer team scored the final three goals for a 6-3 win. The South Coast Conference victory by the Falcons (5-2-4, 2-0-1) extended their unbeaten streak to six games (3-0-3) and kept them in at least a tie for first place in the South Division. They will now host El Camino College at 4:00 p.m. next Tuesday.
The two teams traded goals early in the game, with sophomore Carlos Escobedo (South Gate HS) accounting for the Falcons tall on a header off a corner kick by freshman Luis Garcia (La Habra HS). They took a 2-1 lead in the 18th minute when Garcia converted a penalty kick after freshman Oscar Canela (Paramount HS) was pulled down in the box. Before the end of the first half, Garcia threaded a pass to freshman Andy Benitez (Bell HS), who went in alone on a breakaway and put the ball in the net.
The Seahawks (3-5-2, 1-1-0) tied the game with two goals in the second half before the Falcons could respond. But in the 78th minute, a crossing pass from Canela found the foot of freshman Adrian Becerra (Morningside HS) and he put the team in the lead for good. A pair of insurance goals by freshman Guy Julien (National Haitian Student Alliance) were added in the 80th and then 88th minute to account for the three-goal win. The final goal came off a corner kick from Becerra, with freshman Juan Sanchez (International Studies Learning Center HS) feeding Julien on his first goal.
In the net, sophomore Ivan Martin Del Campo (Granada Hills Kennedy HS) was able to turn away seven shots to earn the win and keep the unbeaten streak alive.