Cerritos College manages to pull off a 4-0 win against Pasadena College without four key starters.
The game started off intense with both teams pushing forward trying to open the deadlock. Pasadena’s offense was able to build up the first opportunity of the game.
Pasadena’s offense was able to cross the ball from side to side leaving the forward free to give another cross but was too high for the striker to finish.
Pasadena had another offensive opportunity on a one-on-one dribble where Pasadena’s forward beat Cerritos’ defender leaving him with an open shot but deflected by Hernan Perez.
Cerritos responded back when Luis Lira came off with a cross to Jose Rivera who missed a wide-open header inside the box.
The Falcons stayed compact and kept pressuring in the midfield which led them to break the deadlock.
As Pasadena tried to build up an offensive play Guy Carven recovered the ball in the midfield and caught Pasadena’s defense off guard.
Carven then proceeded to pass the ball between Pasadena’s defense leaving Oscar Canela alone inside the box and break the deadlock with a clean finish.
Canela described the goal as “something big for me,” he continued, “I have been struggling offensively lately so it was good to put it in the back of the net again.”
With the 1-0 lead, Cerritos took control of the game with intensity and pressure in the midfield.
In a counterattack led by Carven, Pasadena had to stop the play to not concede a second goal. Christopher Munoz committed a foul on Carven giving Cerritos a set piece play and Munoz a yellow card.
The booking costed Munoz and Pasadena because moments later a one-two connection between Carven and Canela, Munoz fouled again leading to his second booking and was expelled from the game.
The Falcons finished the first half 1-0 thanks to Perez who blocked a great shot from outside the 18-yard box.
Coming into the second half with one man 18-yard the field and not wanting his players to fall into relaxation, Head Coach Benny Artiaga told his players to “stay aggressive and keep their foot on their throat.”
Artiaga contributed his team having an extra man on the pitch to his offense saying, “we went at their center back and on two situations he was forced to make a decision as to whether or not let us go or commit the foul and he made two bad decisions.”
Cerritos’ second goal came after Carlos Payeras beat Pasadenas’ defender to the ball who then positioned himself to assist Carven who controlled the ball and netted it with a shot slightly outside the 18.
The 3-0 came moments later after Carlos Payeras took on a defender, cut on the inside, and left the left sideline open for Leonel Perez to run inside the box and put his name on the stat sheet by putting the ball behind the net.
After the third goal, Pasadena looked defeated with no urgency of trying to score a goal. Cerritos took advantage of this opportunity when Jose Rivera was brought down inside the box for a penalty kick.
Pasadena’s goalie Andrew Espinoza was close to blocking the shot but Espinoza’s shot was too powerful and Cerritos was up 4-0.
This was Cerritos’ ninth game with a shutout and Artiaga accredited this game to one key player on defense, Eric Payeras.
Payeras stated that the key for the team’s shutout was due to the team staying compact and together.
He continued, “we never got frustrated and we just worked together as a team and got the result.”
The Falcons’ next home game will be against Compton College on Oct. 3 at 2 p.m.
