The Cerritos College Men’s Soccer team obtained its ninth victory of the season, by a score of 3-1 against Norco College on Oct. 1. This was the first ever match between Cerritos and Norco College, also it was the last non-conference game this season.
The Falcons played without two of their starters due to injuries, sophomore defenders No. 5 Eugene Martinez and No. 4 David Lermas.
Cerritos had a tough first half in which they were kept scoreless. Despite having ball possession, the Falcons only had six shots-on-goal throughout the first half.
In the second half, Cerritos took the lead in the 48th minute when freshman midfielder No. 25 Martin Velasquez assisted freshman midfielder No. 7 Armando Ibarra for the first goal of the match.
In the 56th minute, the Falcons scored its second goal when midfielder Ibarra assisted sophomore forward No. 9 Kevin Diaz for the second goal for the hosts.
Just three minutes after the hour mark, Norco scored thanks to defender No. 21 Joshua Radcliff who took a shot-on-goal to keep the Mustangs in the game.
Cerritos had an opportunity to score from the penalty spot in the 77th minute, however forward Diaz had his penalty saved by Mustangs’ goalkeeper No. 1 Jose Espino. Norco defender No. 17 Eric Serrano was cautioned by the referee after the penalty kick.
In the 82nd minute, the Falcons scored the third goal when forward Diaz assisted freshman midfielder No. 26 Nicholas Correa for the 3-1 final score. Freshman midfielder No. 19 Bryan Perez, who is second on the team in assists, also missed the game due to a disciplinary decision.
Both teams obtained two yellow cards during the match. Sophomore midfielder No. 10 Bryan Ortega was cautioned in the 60th minute for grabbing the opponent’s jersey and freshman defender No. 20 Kendrick Garcia for a foul in the 83rd minute.
Cerritos previous three away matches: Cerritos 4-1 San Diego City College; Cerritos 6-2 Cuyamaca College; Cerritos 4-2 Taft College.
When asked on the Falcons first goal midfielder Ibarra said, “I felt great after scoring because my grandma passed away and I am going to turn 18 [years old] on Friday.”
Freshman goalkeeper No. 0 Luis Enciso when asked on the goal against Cerritos stated, “It feels like a blow conceding a goal. I felt that we worked hard on defense, it is what it is, but I can make more saves.” Enciso substituted sophomore goalkeeper No. 1 Jose Azpeitia due to injury at halftime.
When asked on the Falcons third goal midfielder Correa said, “It’s a feeling like no other…there isn’t a way to express your happiness after scoring a goal.”
The defending state champions will be hosting the Compton College Tartars on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m., three days later on Oct. 11 Cerritos travel to El Camino College to take on the Warriors at 4 p.m. On Oct. 15, the Falcons host the Huskies of East Los Angeles College at 4 p.m.
