Falcons achieved their 14 win of the season and continue undefeated as they defeat El Camino 3-1 on Oct. 31.
Coach Benny Artiaga called this “one of our worst games of the year” and said the team “didn’t have a sense of urgency.”
The Falcons offensive threats came quickly in the game when Marc Calderon took on El Caminos defender Shane Melnyk and centered the ball to Christian Perez whose shot went above the crossbar.
El Camino did not stay behind, on their first approach Jordan Aldama had to save a couple of shots from the Warriors but Cerritos defense was unable to clear away the ball from the box. Gregory Natt took advantage and netted the first goal of the game.
Looking for the draw, Calderon once again took on Melnyk and passed the ball to Perez, but El Caminos’ keeper Hector Gutierrez deflected the ball to a corner kick.
On the corner kick in an unsuccessful scramble to clear the ball by Warriors defense Luis Lira took a shot but Warriors keeper Gutierrez sent it to another corner kick.
After the corner kick was covered Lira protected the ball, and in an attempt to take a shot he brought down inside the box, and a penalty kick was awarded to Cerritos College.
Guy Carven took the ball into his hands laid down the ball onto the penalty spot and netted the ball for the 1-1 draw.
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw with Cerritos putting more pressure on top looking to get the 2-1 lead.
Cerritos started the second half putting pressure on El Caminos defense making them lose the ball to Oscar Canela who dribbled his way into the 18 and had himself a shot which the keeper saved again.
Minute 42 in a throw-in favor for El Camino keeper Aldama punched the ball out but feel into the feet of El Caminos forward and took a shot that went wide.
Luis Garcia on the 33 minute bodied out his defender and dribbled into the box, passed it to Carlos Payeras, but missed it for the 2-1 lead.
The Falcons got the 2-1 lead after a triangle combination from Lira, Calderon, and Perez. Lira initiated the play by sending a cross to Calderon who with a header set the ball to Perez to finish with his right foot.
Perez said, “it’s a good feeling to be able to put my team on top” but also said the team’s attitude needs to change “we got to come in with the intensity that we are losing we can’t come in with the intensity that we are on top.”
El Camino had sporadic approaches, but none were dangerous to Cerritos defense.
Cerritos looked for the 3-1 lead after Garcia dribbled off his defenders on the right and sent a cross to Perez but Gutierrez had another save for El Camino.
The 3-1 lead came after Perez was fouled from outside the box and a free kick was awarded to Cerritos College.
Garcia took the ball set it up and with only two men in the wall Garcia used it to his advantage and scored a worldie free kick for Cerritos 3-1 win.
Garcia said, “the beginning we started off a little slow after we picked up the momentum and thank god we finished off the chances we could get and take the three points home.”
Despite calling this game one of the worst of the year coach Artiaga said, “This group has understood how to win and understanding what it takes to finish games.”
