For the Cerritos College men's soccer team, their first game of the season was an opportunity to get as many players on the field to see how they would respond to game pressure. It turned out to be an early goal by sophomore Jose Espinoza (Salesian HS) that proved to be all the offense necessary, as the Falcons handed Rio Hondo College a 1-0 defeat on Tuesday afternoon. Next up for the team will be the Hartnell Tournament, where the team will face three of the better teams from Northern California on successive days, starting on Friday.

"Although we scored our only goal in the first half, I thought we played much better in the second half," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "We didn't show much of an aggressive nature in the first half, and were a bit timid. But we turned it up better in the second half and held off a very good Rio Hondo team."

The lone goal of the game was set up when sophomore midfielder Thiago Lusardi (Centro Educational Ramos HS, Brazil) fed the ball over several Roadrunner defenders, where freshman Arturo Flores (Bellflower HS) was able to control the ball. After turning toward the action, he spotted Espinoza, who saw his shot sail past Rio Hondo goalkeeper Edward Maya with only 6:14 expired off the clock.

The Falcon defense received a solid performance from sophomores Ricardo Villegas (Paramount HS), Gustavo Reyes (Long Beach Wilson HS) and Fabian Tapia (Glenwood Springs, CO HS), as well as freshmen Esteban Alvarado (Bell HS) and Ricardo Covarrubias (Elizabeth Learning Center HS).

The lead held up nicely for the majority of the game, and the final outcome required a stellar diving save from 6-foot-6 freshman goalkeeper Thomas Yeandle (Orange Lutheran HS) off a direct kick with just under 14 minutes left in the game. The Roadrunners were able to possess the rebound off the same, and thought Francisco Saucedo had tied the game when he scored past Yeandle. But Rio Hondo was called for offside and the shutout was preserved.

"That was a very nice save by Thomas," added Artiaga. "But what I'm more focused on was why did that kick get through our wall. That shouldn't happen. But we're still figuring things out and we showed that we were able to handle some pressure. A lot of these kids were playing their first collegiate game and we found a way to win, which is the biggest aspect of the game."

Photo by Daryl Peterson