An uncharacteristic defensive breakdown within the first few minutes of their South Coast Conference crossover game that led to a goal didn't deter the Cerritos College men's soccer team from their game plan. The nation's top-ranked Falcons (13-0-3) saw host Pasadena City College score in the second minute of the game when Pablo Buenrostro blasted a shot past freshman goalkeeper Jordan Aldama (North Torrance HS) for an early 1-0 advantage.

Maintaining their approach of using the fast Lancer artificial turf to their advantage, Cerritos was able to score twice within 2 1/2 minutes prior to the end of the first half to take a 2-1 lead at intermission. They continued to attack as much as possible and added two more second half goals for a 4-1 victory.

The same pairing of freshman Christian Perez (Paramount HS) and Carlos Payeras (Lennox Academy HS) accounted for the two goals and the momentum the team was looking heading into intermission. In the 37th minute, Payeras took control of the ball at midfield and after working his way deeper into Pasadena City territory, fed Perez and he sent a a line drive shot into the far corner from 20 yards out for the tying goal. Riding the wave of confidence from that scoring strike, the same duo worked the ball into a scoring position, with Payeras drilling a goal into the center of the net after a give-and-go pass from Perez early in the 40th minute.

After giving up the early goal, Aldama and the defense settled down and limited the Lancers to just 11 more shots, with only two of them on goal. By contrast, the Falcons saw 11 of their 17 shots go on goal, with four finding their way into the net.

Showing his display of both power and accuracy, sophomore Luis Garcia (La Habra HS) gave the team a 3-1 lead in the 47th minute when he drove home a free kick from 24 yards out high into the net. It was a fortuitous second half for the Falcons to continue their offensive prowess, as freshman defender Eric Payeras (Connections Academy HS) received his second yellow card of the game prior to the end of the first half, leaving Cerritos with just 10 players for the entire second half.

After Garcia picked up his team-leading 13th goal of the season, sophomore Kevin Martinez (Pioneer HS) added his second goal of the season when he pounced on a loose ball from seven yards out and scored under a diving Andrew Espinoza, which closed out the scoring.

The Falcons will now start the second half of divisional play on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. when they host El Camino College (6-7-4). They defeated the Warriors, 3-1 in their first meeting.