Playing the game in a constant rain, the Cerritos College men's soccer team was unable to get a shot into the net and had to settle for a 0-0 draw with visiting Bakersfield College on Friday. The results was the second straight scoreless tie for the Falcons (3-0-2), who will travel to Glendale College for a 5:00 p.m. game next Tuesday.

The majority of the game was played on the Renegades (1-2-2) side of the field, but Cerritos wasn't able to connect that final pass that would lead to a score. They had countless missed chances to get the ball past Bakersfield goalkeeper Victor Melendez, but the shots were either off the mark or turned away. Late in the first half, sophomore Christian Perez (Paramount HS) had one of the game's best chances, but saw his strike careen off the crossbar in the 44th minute.

"Today was one of those days where the ball wouldn't go in," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "With all the weather factors, it was easy to be distracted but we have to do a better job of executing. No one can execute for you in tough moments so that's something we need to learn. But we'll keep working. On the positive side, we kept our clean sheets."

Freshman goalkeeper Juan Pablo Camacho (Norwalk HS) wasn't asked to make many saves, as the defense did a stellar job of shutting down Bakersfield. Camacho made two saves, with that number limited due to the strong defensive play of Jaret Rocha (Paramount HS), Ernesto Vergara (Bishop Mora Salesian HS), Antonio Negrete (St. John Bosco HS), Alfredo Ortiz (Oscar De La Hoya HS/East Los Angeles College) and Johan Duenas (Warren HS).

In the waning moments of the game, sophomore Pablo Caparelli (Real Salt Lake Academy, UT HS) was turned away on a point blank shot after Melendez turned the ball over on an attempted clearing play.

On the day, Cerritos outshot Bakersfield, 23-4.

Photos by Daryl Peterson