Sophomore midfielder Antonio Negrete (St. John Bosco HS) scored bookend goals, as the Cerritos College men's soccer team recorded a 4-0 win at Norco College on Friday. The Falcons (8-0-2), who are ranked #2 in the country among Division III (non-scholarship) community colleges by the United Soccer Coaches, will now prepare for defense of their South Coast Conference title. Cerritos will travel to El Camino College next Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. in a clash of national powers to open conference play. The Warriors (8-1-0), who ended the Falcons season last year with a 3rd Round Playoff defeat, was ranked #8 in the most recent ranking.

Against the Mustangs (5-3-3), the game was scoreless through the first 67 minutes until Negrete broke the tie with his fourth goal of the season. That seemed to loosen things up offensively for Cerritos, as Norco made adjustments to increase their offensive approach.

Taking full advantage of that, the quick-striking Falcon offense scored their next three goals over a six-minute stretch, as the Mustangs had no answer. Sophomore Pablo Caparelli (Real Salt Lake Academy, UT HS) picked up his team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 80th minute, with sophomore Michael Rodriguez (Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy HS) making it a 3-0 game four minutes later. Negrete put away his fifth goal of the year less than two minutes later, with Rodriguez collecting the save.

Freshman goalkeeper Juan Pablo Camacho (Norwalk HS) turned away three shots to record the shutout and improve to 3-0-2 on the year, with the Falcons out-shooting Norco, 29-11 on the day.