Playing one of their most impressive first halves of the season, the Cerritos College men's soccer team scored all of their goals in a 4-0 win over visiting Los Angeles Harbor College. The Falcons (8-7-5, 4-1-2) have one regular season game remaining and will travel to El Camino College for a 3:00 p.m. match. Heading into the game, Cerritos was 16th in Southern California in power points, while the win catapulted them to ninth, with several schools still not reporting their scores. There are 14 teams that advance to the Southern California Regional Playoffs.
Additionally, if Cerritos defeats El Camino on Friday, they will win the South Coast Conference South Division championship.
In the win over the Seahawks (6-12-2, 2-5-0), Cerritos scored their four goals in a 21-minute span in the first half and didn't allow a shot on goal until the second half.
In the 22nd minute, freshman Luis Garcia (La Habra HS) got the team on the board when he was able to control a pass from freshman Adrian Becerra (Morningside HS), turned and fired a shot that caught goalkeeper Michael Villora unprepared. A little over three minutes later, Cerritos passed the ball beautifully, with sophomore Edwin Corona (Cathedral HS) starting the play with a pass to Garcia, who quickly sent a one-time pass to Becerra on the right side. Just as quickly as he received the ball, Becerra was able to chip the ball home for a 2-0 advantage.
The scoring continued in the 40th minute when Garcia sent a pass up the field, where freshman Oscar Canela (Paramount HS) controlled the ball and fired off a hard shot that beat Villoria. Continuing their superb passing and ball control, they picked up their fourth goal of the half in the 43rd minute when Corona stole a clearing pass deep in Seahawks territory and drilled a shot that Villoria had to chance at stopping.
Although they didn't score in the second half, the Falcons continued to control the tempo of the game and put six more shots on goal, compared to just one for LA Harbor. The goalkeeping tandem of Ivan Martin Del Campo (Granada Hills Kennedy HS) and Hernan Perez (Pioneer HS), who played the final 25 minutes, combined for the shutout.
Photos by Daryl Peterson
