Locked in a defensive battle that left both teams with limited scoring chances, the Cerritos College men's soccer team was able to break through in the first half and posted a 1-0 non-conference win over visiting Cuyamaca College on Tuesday. The Falcons (3-2-0) will have 10 days off before their next match when they travel to Taft College for a 4:00 p.m. game on September 20.

The majority of the game consisted of both teams trying to make that final pass to get off a good shot on goal. On the Falcons side, defenders Alberto Gomez (Los Alamitos HS), Adrian Ibarra (Downey HS), Edgar Ausencio (Linda Esperanza Marquez HS), Joshua Chavez (Ambassador School of Global Leadership HS), Daniel Vazquez (Perry Academy, GA HS) and Halmar Carranza (Lakewood HS) took on the Coyotes and limited them to just five shots on goal. Freshman Griffin Welch (Long Beach Poly HS) was up to the task and turned away all five shots to secure the shutout.

Using their neutral zone pressure, combined by their speed on the edges, Cerritos was able to find the back of the net in the 30th minute of the game. After an initial attempt was turned away, the Falcons continued with a second effort and sophomore Pedro Reyes (Connections Academy HS/Cal State Fullerton) was able to slide a shot past Cuymaca goalkeeper Pablo Torres after getting a short pass from sophomore Felipe Moreno (St. John Bosco HS).

The goal was able to hold up for the remainder of the game, as the Falcons controlled the ball for most of the second half and got off five more shots on goal.

Photos by Daryl Peterson