It appeared as though a late second half goal might be enough to advance the Cerritos College men's soccer team to the next round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs. However, host Long Beach City College was able to tie the game in the final minutes and then added a late second overtime goal to hand the Falcons a 2-1 loss and end their season.

Cerritos (12-6-4) entered the postseason as the #11-seeded team, while the Vikings (13-5-4) were the #6-seeded team.

The Falcons withstood an early penalty kick attempt by LBCC's Kayvon Monfared, their leading scorer, but sophomore goalkeeper Juan Pablo Camacho (Norwalk HS) made the save in the fourth minute of the game.

 

The two teams played a tight defensive battle from the outset until the Falcons broke through in the 80th minute. Freshman Miguel Gonzalez was able to chip a shot into the back of the net, much to the relief of the entire team.

Looking to maintain their lead for the rest of the game, Cerritos saw Long Beach City tie the game just four minutes later. Three minutes after that, the Falcons had a glorious chance to regain the lead, but Mark Cristino (Downey HS/UC Riverside) had his shot hit off the goalpost, which kept the game tied.

The game ended 1-1 in regulation, which sent it to two 15-minute overtime periods.

 

Both teams had a pair of shots on goal until the Vikings scored what would be the game-winner in the 112th minute. With only eight minutes to tie the game, Cerritos only had one more shot attempt the remainder of the match and suffered the season-ending defeat.

Photos by Daryl Peterson