After the Cerritos College men's soccer team lost earlier in South Coast Conference play to El Camino College, they knew that beating rival Mt. San Antonio College became even more imperative than usual. But when the Falcons were defeated, 2-1 by host Pasadena City College on Friday, they know that in order to even have a chance to vie for the conference title, they will now have to beat the Mounties twice and hope that other teams ahead of them in the standings struggle at some point during the year.

Cerritos (8-3-2, 4-2-0), who had just leapfrogged Mt. San Antonio into the #1 spot in the Southern California rankings by the CCCAA/CCCSIA, must now host their rival on the heels of a poor performance against the Lancers, who won for just the second time in 13 matches and are now 2-8-3 overall and 2-2-2 in the SCC. The Falcons will host the Mounties at 4:00 p.m. next Tuesday.

It was two early goals by Pasadena City that did in Cerritos, as Yeyson Cabelleros headed in a goal in the 13th minute on a throw-in and three minutes later, it was Eric Chavez who flicked in a header on a cross by Michael Alcarez that beat freshman goalkeeper Benito Gonzalez (Long Beach Wilson HS), who was making his second start in a row. Pasadena City goalkeeper Alex Radillo made seven saves on the day, including a brilliant stop on a breakaway by Cerritos' Gabriel Rivera (California HS) in the 66th minute.

The Falcons did make the game close when sophomore Daniel Garcia (Artesia HS) scored two minutes later on a breakaway goal after receiving a pass from sophomore Gerardo Soto (Salesian HS). 

Photo by Daryl Peterson