All-American Luis Gonzalez scored four goals and recorded three assists to lead the Cerritos men’s soccer team in a pair of convincing wins against Oxnard and Taft.

A weakened Falcon squad thrashed Oxnard, 6-1, on Friday, before beating Taft, 4-1, on Sunday to finish at the top of the Azteca Tournament, held at Mt. SAC.

Gonzalez played a direct part in five of the six goals as he recorded a hat trick to go along with two assists in the win against Oxnard.

Also getting on the score sheet for Cerritos, with one goal each, were Benjamin Nieves, Cesar Castillo and Andrew Robles.

The extent to which his team dominated the game was somewhat of a surprise even to head coach Benny Artiaga, who had nothing but praise for his team.

“We were really able to shut down Oxnard’s offense, which set the tone for us defensively. I was especially happy with the play of the outside midfielders. Also, I think Fabian Perez was probably the best player in the tournament for us.

“Offensively, we were really able to establish our identity early on as a team that can attack from anywhere.”

This identity was confirmed in the Falcons’ second game of the tournament, as they ran away with a 4-1 victory against Taft.

Both sides traded chances to start the match, until Gonzalez broke open the scoring in the 15th minute.

Cesar Castillo added a brace, and freshman Herman Rivas scored his first goal for Cerritos in the win.

“We came out with unbelievable discipline, but Luis scoring early changed the whole tone of the game for us. He really established himself as a leader out there,” Artiaga said.

Gonzalez, however, credits his teammates for the squad’s early success.

“As a team, we’re looking really good. All the freshmen look good. We are probably even better than last year. I think we have a good chance at winning a national title this year,” he said.

What may be most impressive about Cerritos’ performance over the weekend is that it won big without the likes of All South Coast Conference players Rene Hernandez and Stephan Mangu.

Both players, who played crucial roles in last year’s championship season, are out due to injury.

“We have three key guys still out that we’re waiting for to get healthy. So it made the wins that much more satisfying,” Artiaga said.

The Falcons next travel to Salinas where they will play in the Hartnell tournament over Labor Day weekend.

Friday, Cerritos matches up against American River. The next day, it will face a stern test against Hartnell College, who is ranked No. 8 in the nation.