“Patience was the key,” said Cerritos College men’s soccer coach Benny Artiaga in reference to the team’s victory over the Huskies of East Los Angeles College, 2-1.
From the start of the match, the Falcons had control of the ball and maintained a good pace in the first half, making East L.A. goalie Juan Escobar make some remarkable saves.
In the seventeenth minute, a defensive mistake by the Huskies led to the Falcons having a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie, but resulted in a save by Escobar.
A corner kick for Cerritos College in the forty-first minute, led to a scramble for the ball in the penalty box where again Escobar reacted by making some good saves.
In the forty-fifth minute, a low cross in to the box from the left side saw Falcon forward Thaigo Lusardi getting a touch of the ball with the goalie making a save at the lower-left corner.
The first half ended with no score from either team.
The Falcons head the most of the possession with 12 shots, while the Huskies only had four.
In the Second half, Cerritos College continued to take possession and distributed the ball more, while East L.A. played more physical game.
A free kick in the fifty-eighth minute from Falcon midfielder Mario Guerrero hit the crossbar, but a great heads-up play by midfielder Daniel Garcia resulted in Garcia securing not just the rebound, but also taking advantage by inserting a header into the goal, putting Cerritos College on top 1-0.
The Huskies had a golden opportunity in the sixty-fifth minute when Salvador Medrano had a breakaway opportunity, matching-up with Cerritos College goalie Brett Hughes, with Hughes forcing a shot over the crossbar.
One minute later, an indirect free kick for East Los Angeles was crossed over into the box and goalie Hughes failed to clear the ball as he turned over. He watched Daniel Larios kick the ball into the net, tying the game 1-1.
In the seventy-eighth minute, Falcon midfielder Carlos Rosales had the ball in the midfield, then passed to Jose Rivera who moved the ball onto to the left side where a wide open Garcia, who scored his second and game-winning goal with a low shot into the right corner, solidifying a 2-1 victory for Cerritos College.
“They (East LA) sat in the pack we show(ed) patience and play as a team,” said Midfielder Oscar Enriquez.
Artiaga said, “We (Cerritos men’s soccer team) came today with the same approach, came out here, did what we did. This team defended with 11, but to the kids’ credit they stayed patient.”
The Falcons now have an overall record of 7 wins, 2 losses, and 2 ties.
The next game for the Cerritos College men’s soccer team is an away game against Long Beach City College on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
