Playing as though they were already in mid-season form, the Cerritos College men's soccer team attacked from the outset in their season opener on Friday. The Falcons (1-0-0) turned in an impressive 7-0 win over visiting Cypress College, as they scored four goals in the first half and added three more in the second half. The team will look to build on their outstanding performance when they host Citrus College at 4:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

It took less than five minutes for Cerritos to get on the board against the Chargers (0-1-0) when sophomore Guy Carven (National Haitian Student Alliance) fed a nice pass to sophomore Adrian Becerra (Morningside HS), who wasted little time in making his move. Once he received the pass with his back to the net, Becerra made a quick turn around his defender and lined a shot under the far crossbar for the first goal of the season.

Becerra, who would end up having a hand in three of the goals, sent a nice pass through a pair of Cypress defenders to sophomore Oscar Canela (Paramount HS), who chipped the ball as part of a one-timer and past goalkeeper Eddie Vasquez Hernandez. The Falcons added a pair of late first half goals to take a commanding 4-0 lead into halftime. With a little over three minutes left in the first half, sophomore Luis Garcia (La Habra HS) fed the ball to freshman Alberto Carrillo (Lynwood HS), who scored on a shot across the crease. It was the tenacious Cerritos defense that led to the third goal, while Garcia took care of the fourth goal himself. After he was fouled, Garcia lined up a free kick from over 30 yards out and drilled a shot under the crossbar for his first of two from long distance.

Spearheading the team's success was their defense, precision passing and speed on the outside. With each substitute that came in, the Falcons continued to beat Cypress to every loose ball and were also able to move the ball in tight spaces.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Garcia noticed that new goalkeeper Eric Rodriguez was well out of the net after stealing the ball. Like any gifted goal scorer, Garcia lifted a shot from over 50 yards out into and empty net for a 5-0 lead. Cerritos picked up two more goals in the final 15 minutes of the game when sophomore Kevin Martinez (Pioneer HS) received a nice threading pass from sophomore Hector Jimenez (South East HS) and scored into the right side of the net.

The final goal showcased the theme of the entire game. It was an attacking Cerritos team that benefitted from a lucky bounce when they crowded in front of the net. On a hard shot from Becerra that drilled the crossbar, sophomore Jose Rivera (Torrance HS) was looking for a rebound and had the ball deflect off his back and into the net to close out the scoring.

Playing in his first collegiate game, freshman goalkeeper Jordan Aldama (North Torrance HS) turned away four shots, including two from point blank, to record the shutout. The Falcons outshot the Charger, 26-5 on the day.

Photos by Daryl Peterson