After going seven games without a loss, the Cerritos College men's soccer team was shut out for the second time in a row. On Tuesday afternoon, the Falcons (6-4-4) dropped a 2-0 decision to visiting Pasadena City College right after suffering a 1-0 loss to rival Mt. San Antonio College on Friday. The consecutive South Coast Conference crossover games don't affect their South Division standings, but Cerritos will be looking to get back to their scoring ways, as they accounted for 11 goals in their previous two games.
The win by the Lancers at Cerritos was their first since 2003, which spanned 14 games - including two playoff matches - while the Falcons had outscored PCC, 52-6 over that period.
Locked in a tight defensive battle with the Lancers (7-3-3), the Falcons were unable to get a shot past goalkeeper Kristopher Guerra, who recorded seven saves in the game. Both Luis Garcia (La Habra HS) and Edwin Corona (Cathedral HS) tested him in the first half, while freshman Oscar Canela (Paramount HS) had the best look late in the second half, but was turned away.
Pasadena was able to get on the board late in the first half when Yader Rodriguez scored into the upper corner against sophomore goalkeeper Ivan Martin Del Campo (Granada Hills Kennedy HS) in the 41st minute. They added an insurance goal in the 78th minute on a penalty kick goal by Manuel Chavez after sophomore Ivan Vazquez (Fullerton HS) tackled him in the 18-yard box.
The Falcons struggled at times with stringing together multiple passes, while the Lancers closed in on the open spaces quickly to contribute to the team's offensive struggles. Pasadena City outshot Cerritos, 10-7 on the day.
Photos by Daryl Peterson
