When the Cerritos College men's soccer team dropped three games in a row earlier in the season, and slipped to fourth place in the South Coast Conference, it didn't look like the team was going to make an impact on the year. But after a scoreless tie against ECC Compton Center that followed the three losses, the Falcons went on to win five games in a row, including a thrilling 2-1 victory at Mt. San Antonio College on Friday. The win secured second place in the South Coast Conference and catapulted Cerritos (13-5-3, 9-4-1) into second place in the Southern California Power Rankings. The seeding for the Southern California Regional Playoffs is Monday and the if the Falcons are seeded #2, they will get a bye in the first round.

"I am so very proud of this team," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "They stepped up to the challenges presented to them by the coaches late in the season and their reward is a potential #2-seed and a few days off before the playoffs. This was such a great win by a group of players that never stopped fighting."

Trailing 1-0 after a second half Mountie goal in the 65th minute, freshman Nicholas Escalante (California HS) dribbled into the box and created a penalty kick opportunity when he was fouled. He tied the game in the 73rd minute with his successful penalty kick. It looked as though the game was going to end in a tie, but in the 87th minute Escalante sent a crossing pass to freshman Jose Rivera (Torrance HS), who found the back of the net for the game-winner.

Freshman goalkeeper Benito Gonzalez (Long Beach Wilson HS) posted four saves on the day, but none more important than his save that kept the game at 1-0 in the second half. The Falcons had a great scoring chance in the first half when a corner kick handed on the foot of freshman Jeffrey Payeras (Animo HS), whose point blank shot was turned away.

Photo by Daryl Peterson