A pair of first half goals by freshman Hector Jimenez (South East HS) led the way for the Cerritos College men's soccer team, who defeated visiting Santa Monica College, 3-1 on Friday. Jimenez, who scored both of his goals on headers, helped the team take a 2-0 lead in the first 26 minutes of the game. The home game was the third in a row for the Falcons (3-2-2), who will close out their non-conference schedule by hosting Taft College at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Both tallies by Jimenez came on crossing passes to the far post, and both were finished in the same manner, as he jumped higher than the final Corsairs (2-3-2) defender. His first goal came in the 10th minute on a nice crossing pass from sophomore Edwin Corona (Cathedral HS), while in the 26th minute, Jimenez finished the crossing pass by freshman Giovanny Garcia (Rosemead HS).

Santa Monica did cut their deficit in half in the 40th minute on a goal from Romario Hulea, but an early second half goal by freshman Oscar Canela (Paramount HS) gave the Falcons a two-goal cushion. Playing the game deep in Corsairs territory for the majority of the game, Corona pushed the ball to the top of the penalty box. He fed Canela, who made a couple of pretty spinning moves around defenders and finished the play in front of the goal, where he scored on a hard shot low into the far side.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ivan Martin Del Campo (Granada Hills Kennedy HS) earned the win and kept the team in the lead with several outstanding saves on point blank shots. The Corsairs moved into Falcon territory, and turned away Hulea in the 80th minute and then Andy Naidu four minutes later on a hard shot in front of the net after it deflected off a Cerritos player. Martin Del Campo finished with four saves.

Photos by Daryl Peterson