Facing an attacking defense from visiting Los Angeles City College on Friday, the Cerritos College men's soccer team handled their pressure like the #2-ranked team in the nation and recorded a 2-0 win. The Falcons (14-0-2, 6-0-0), who are ranked #1 in the state as well as their #2 national ranking by United Soccer Coaches among Division III (non-scholarship) schools, will now travel to Los Angeles Harbor College next Tuesday for another South Coast Conference match.

When they weren't putting pressure on the Cubs (11-5-1, 3-3-0) defense with their offensive attack, the Falcons found themselves pressured in their own zone, as LA City tried to disrupt the play. But Cerritos was unflappable, as the defense was up to the task. Skillfully holding off LA City were twin defenders Alfredo Ortiz (Oscar De La Hoya HS/East Los Angeles College) and Raul Ortiz (Oscar De La Hoya HS/East Los Angeles College), along with Ernesto Vergara (Bishop Mora Salesian HS), who were all able to fend off the proposed game plan by the Cubs.

"This was a very disciplined game by our boys today," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "We're very happy with their ability to adapt to all kinds of styles and different teams. It resulted in another shutout and we're very happy."

The first scoring chance of the game came in the 18th minute when Erik Perez of the Cubs lined a shot off the crossbar. However, Cerritos regrouped and skillfully moved the ball into a scoring chance, where sophomore Uriel Sanchez (Servite HS) sent a long crossing pass to freshman Kobe Chavez (North Hollywood HS). After receiving the ball, Chavez moved in alone and fired a shot past Fidencio Flores for a 1-0 lead on his seventh goal of the season.

With all the pressure LA City was trying to put on the back row of the Falcons, it deterred them from creating any scoring chances. Cerritos, using their standard ball control offensive game plan, added an insurance goal late in the game. Chavez started the play by taking the ball to the right side and near the goal line. He crossed a pass to Diego Cortes (Downey HS), where he quickly connected with Chris Corona (Pioneer HS) in front of the goal, where he drove home his second goal of the season.

With freshman Steven Ruiz (Cathedral HS) the only healthy goalkeeper right now, he turned away a pair of shots to collect his eighth win of the season.

Photos by Daryl Peterson