Continuing their newfound offensive success, the Cerritos College men's soccer team recorded a 6-1 South Coast Conference South Division win over visiting Los Angeles Harbor College on Friday. The Falcons (13-1-2), winners of five in row - and unbeaten in their last 15 games - have scored a combined 21 goals in their last three matches. Ranked #1 in the country and the state, Cerritos will look to extend their unbeaten streak next Tuesday when they travel to Compton College for a 4:00 p.m. divisional game. The Falcons posted a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Tartars in their first meeting.

In the 17th minute, the Falcons took a 1-0 lead when sophomore Alberto Carrillo (Lynwood HS) was able to get enough on the ball to reach a pass to freshman Oscar Penate (Connections Academy HS). Mixed in with seven people in front of the net, Penate was able to get a shot off that cleared everyone's legs and found its way into the net. Cerritos scored their next three goals over the course of eight minutes, with the last two only 1:07 apart. The second goal, which came in the 22nd minute, was a thing of beauty. Taking over possession of the ball just inside the midfield line, sophomore Erick Gallinar (Connections Academy HS/UC Irvine) sent a long pass to Carrillo, who re-directed the ball to the foot of freshman Bryan Villalobos (Salesian HS), and he tapped the ball into the net past an unsuspecting Rodrigo Piteau.

Villalobos scored the next Falcon goal, as he received a nice pass from freshman Alex Rodriguez (Gertz Ressler HS) in the open field. Getting the ball on the run, Villalobos fired off a shot that hit the back of the net and left the Seahawks reeling. Before they could regroup, Cerritos struck again when freshman Kevin Diaz (Connections Academy HS) lofted a shot over the head of Piteau, who was out of the net.

LA Harbor came out in the second half and scored their lone goal, which came on a throw-in. The ball was received by Milton Magana, who was able to get between the defense and into the corner of the net, where his shot got past sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Aldama (North Torrance HS). Later in the half, Aldama made a beautiful diving save on a shot by Aron Cervantes, and finished the game with three saves.

Not done on the offensive side, the Falcons struck two more times in the second half, with Diaz getting both to complete the hat trick. In the 68th minute, Diaz grabbed a loose ball off a pass from freshman Lester Pineda (Leuzinger HS) and found himself facing Piteau, where he fired a shot cross-cage and into the net. The third goal was the result of sophomore Bryan Rodriguez (St. John Bosco HS) getting tackled in the 18-yard box by Magana, which resulted in a penalty kick. Diaz stepped up and fired a shot into the left half of the net for his 13th goal of the season.

Photos by Daryl Peterson