The Cerritos Men’s Soccer team obtained their 15th win of the season against Rio Hondo on Nov. 2 by a score of 2-0.
Freshman forwrard No. 9 Kevin Diaz in the fourth minute and midfielder No. 7 Alberto Carrillo in the 15th minute scored for the Falcons.
Freshman defender No. 3 Ernesto Cueva and sophomore midfielder No. 8 Oscar Penate assisted for the first goal. Meanwhile midfielder Carrillo’s goal was unassisted.
It was a really tight game from beginning to end. Cerritos had nine shots-on-goal, meanwhile Rio Hondo had five shots-on-goal throughout the match.
This game also was the last conference crossover match for the Falcons this season.
After the second goal of Cerritos, Rio Hondo was awarded a penalty kick in the 16th minute. Cueva was given a yellow card for a foul in the penalty area. Sophomore goalkeeper No. 1 Jordan Aldama saved the penalty kick by diving to his left.
As the game was coming to a close, sophomore midfielder No. 10 Erick Gallinar stepped up to take a penalty shot after freshman midfielder No. 17 Bryan Ortega was tackled in the box.
Rio Hondo had three yellow cards during the game, their head coach was cautioned for arguing a foul called by the referee after a corner kick which ended in a goal.
Forward Daniel Sanchez and defender Roman Delgado were also issued yellow cards.
A total of 20 fouls were called by the referee, Rio Hondo had 11 fouls, meanwhile Cerritos had only nine fouls during the 90 minutes.
Head Coach Benjamin Artiaga stated, “It was a tough game, but the guys played excellent. It was a great win and against a great rival. Jordan Aldama saved that penalty kick and we dropped their morale.”
Diaz of the team’s performance said, “I think we did very well. We had an offensive triangle in case anyone missed the ball.”
Diaz said that for the next match against El Camino it was important that they win since it would mean winning the conference championship.
He said, “We will keep playing the way we have been playing.”
Goalkeeper Aldama said of the team’s performance, “I thought it was an ok match [since] we won.”
Aldama stated, “I felt happy to keep my clean sheet, I had to help my teammate [defender Cueva] because it was not his fault.”
Freshman defender No. 18 Jorge Cardona said, “At the beginning of the match we were strong, but Rio Hondo never gave up.”
Cardona stated, “For the next games we have to win at home to keep our No. 1 ranking in state and national rankings.”
Cerritos Men’s Soccer team will play their last two conference games against El Camino College on Nov. 6 and travel to Long Beach City College on Nov. 9.
