Through the first 20
minutes of their South Coast Conference home game, the Cerritos College
men's soccer team spent most of their time fighting off the aggressive
attack from Pasadena City College. In fact, the Lancers were able to take an
early 1-0 lead when Ryosuke Tarui scored on a beautiful kick from 30 yards
out, before the Falcons were able to regroup. Once they did, Cerritos was
able to tie the game before halftime and then scored five second-half goals
to post a convincing 6-1 win. The victory improved the team's record to
8-0-1 overall and 2-0-0, while the Lancers dropped to 6-2-1 and 1-1-0.
Cerritos, ranked #4 in the country by the National Soccer Coaches
Association of American (NSCAA), will now travel to El Camino College on
Tuesday for a 2:00 p.m. conference match.
"I don't know what it is, but we seem to start very slowly on our field," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "We knew they have a history of being a physical team, but they were also much quicker than they have been in the past. It caught us off guard for a little while, but once we made some adjustments and reacted a little quicker to the ball, things started to turn around."
Freshman midfielder Gerardo Soto (Salesian HS), who was inserted late in the first half, made an immediate impact, as he scored in the 38th minute to tie the game. After scooping up a loose ball, Soto found himself in a shooting position as he turned toward the goal, and drilled a shot into the upper left corner past Lancer goalkeeper Ramiro Martinez.
"That goal by Pelon (Soto) turned things around for us," added Artiaga. "He's the smallest guy on the field, but he makes some of the biggest plays. He's a real game-changer for us."
The second half was completely unlike the first, as the Falcons were able to convert at will against Pasadena City. The first goal was a bit of a fluke, as sophomore Juan Ochoa (Paramount HS) saw his corner kick deflect off Martinez's hands and into the net in the 63rd minute. It appeared as though Martinez was trying to punch the ball clear, but misplayed the spin of the ball. Before things could settle down, Cerritos struck again in the 65th minute, as freshman midfielder Daniel Garcia (Artesia HS) chipped the ball past Martinez after a nice pass from freshman Dominique Escobar (Roosevelt HS).
Escobar then scored 10 minutes later, as he finished a nice move by Soto, who dribbled past three Lancer defenders and fed the ball for the finishing touch. The game continued to sway in the Falcons favor when Escobar pushed the ball toward the Pasadena City goal past the defense and when Martinez came out to challenge, passed the ball over to sophomore Alejandro Covarrubias (Bell HS), who scored into the empty net. Sophomore Aaron Macedo (South Gate HS) closed out the scoring in the 89th minute, with freshman Danny Castro (Bell HS) collecting the save.
"Our bench did such a great job today," said Artiaga. "Danny Garcia, Dominique Escobar and (defender) Alex Munoz (Paramount HS), who did an great job defending Gor Kirakosyan, came up big for us. Also, Ochoa, the former Press Telegram Player of the Year, is such an amazing player. He's like a coach on the bench and analyzes the game before coming in. He's very focused and just does everything right for us. I really think our bench compliments the starting lineup very well."
Scoring 1st 2nd F
Pasadena City 1 0 1
Cerritos 1 5 6
Goals:
Pasadena City: Ryosuke Tarui (11th minute)
Cerritos: Gerardo Soto (38th minute); Juan Ochoa (63rd minute); Daniel Garcia (65th minute, Dominique Escobar assist); Dominique Escobar (75th minute; Gerardo Soto assist); Alejandro Covarrubias (79th minute, Dominique Escobar assist); Aaron Macedo (89th minute, Danny Castro assist).
Shots on Goal:
Pasadena City: 5 Shots on Goal
Cerritos: 18 Shots on Goal
Keeper Saves:
Pasadena City: Ramiro Martinez (80 minutes; 3 Saves); Fernando Leon (10 minutes; 3 Saves)
Cerritos: Danny Lizama (80 minutes; 3 Saves); Jorge Padilla (10 minutes; 0 Saves)
Records:
Pasadena City: 6-2-1 Overall; 1-1-0 SCC
Cerritos: 8-0-1 Overall, 2-0-0 SCC (Ranked #4 by NSCAA)
"I don't know what it is, but we seem to start very slowly on our field," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "We knew they have a history of being a physical team, but they were also much quicker than they have been in the past. It caught us off guard for a little while, but once we made some adjustments and reacted a little quicker to the ball, things started to turn around."
Freshman midfielder Gerardo Soto (Salesian HS), who was inserted late in the first half, made an immediate impact, as he scored in the 38th minute to tie the game. After scooping up a loose ball, Soto found himself in a shooting position as he turned toward the goal, and drilled a shot into the upper left corner past Lancer goalkeeper Ramiro Martinez.
"That goal by Pelon (Soto) turned things around for us," added Artiaga. "He's the smallest guy on the field, but he makes some of the biggest plays. He's a real game-changer for us."
The second half was completely unlike the first, as the Falcons were able to convert at will against Pasadena City. The first goal was a bit of a fluke, as sophomore Juan Ochoa (Paramount HS) saw his corner kick deflect off Martinez's hands and into the net in the 63rd minute. It appeared as though Martinez was trying to punch the ball clear, but misplayed the spin of the ball. Before things could settle down, Cerritos struck again in the 65th minute, as freshman midfielder Daniel Garcia (Artesia HS) chipped the ball past Martinez after a nice pass from freshman Dominique Escobar (Roosevelt HS).
Escobar then scored 10 minutes later, as he finished a nice move by Soto, who dribbled past three Lancer defenders and fed the ball for the finishing touch. The game continued to sway in the Falcons favor when Escobar pushed the ball toward the Pasadena City goal past the defense and when Martinez came out to challenge, passed the ball over to sophomore Alejandro Covarrubias (Bell HS), who scored into the empty net. Sophomore Aaron Macedo (South Gate HS) closed out the scoring in the 89th minute, with freshman Danny Castro (Bell HS) collecting the save.
"Our bench did such a great job today," said Artiaga. "Danny Garcia, Dominique Escobar and (defender) Alex Munoz (Paramount HS), who did an great job defending Gor Kirakosyan, came up big for us. Also, Ochoa, the former Press Telegram Player of the Year, is such an amazing player. He's like a coach on the bench and analyzes the game before coming in. He's very focused and just does everything right for us. I really think our bench compliments the starting lineup very well."
Scoring 1st 2nd F
Pasadena City 1 0 1
Cerritos 1 5 6
Goals:
Pasadena City: Ryosuke Tarui (11th minute)
Cerritos: Gerardo Soto (38th minute); Juan Ochoa (63rd minute); Daniel Garcia (65th minute, Dominique Escobar assist); Dominique Escobar (75th minute; Gerardo Soto assist); Alejandro Covarrubias (79th minute, Dominique Escobar assist); Aaron Macedo (89th minute, Danny Castro assist).
Shots on Goal:
Pasadena City: 5 Shots on Goal
Cerritos: 18 Shots on Goal
Keeper Saves:
Pasadena City: Ramiro Martinez (80 minutes; 3 Saves); Fernando Leon (10 minutes; 3 Saves)
Cerritos: Danny Lizama (80 minutes; 3 Saves); Jorge Padilla (10 minutes; 0 Saves)
Records:
Pasadena City: 6-2-1 Overall; 1-1-0 SCC
Cerritos: 8-0-1 Overall, 2-0-0 SCC (Ranked #4 by NSCAA)