Continuing their relentless attack, the Cerritos College men's soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games (8-0-2) after a convincing 5-0 South Coast Conference South Division win over visiting Compton College on Friday. The Falcons (9-2-2, 3-0-1), who have been steadily moving up in the state ranking - they were ninth opening the week - sit atop the standings in the SCC South Division. They will travel to Rio Hondo College (1-11-1, 0-2-0) next Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. conference game.

Continuing his offensive success, sophomore Jose Lopez (MY Academy HS) opened the scoring on the day in the sixth minute when he converted a shot from inside the box, as he was able to secure the ball, turn and shoot with accuracy. In the 35th minute, sophomore Donovan Perez (South East HS) was tackled in the 18-yard box, which called for a penalty shot. He converted his fourth penalty shot in as many tries this season to record his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

The Falcons, known for their swarming defense for many years, continued that practice, as they held the Tartars (6-4-2, 2-2-0) in check the entire match. They limited them to just five shots, with just two of them on net.

"We talked all week about not letting down," said head coach Benny Artiaga, who saw his squad knock off the nation's #1-ranked team, Mt San Antonio College, on Tuesday. "Even though our intensity wasn't as high, it was still a great win for us."

Coming out in the second half with just as much intensity, the Falcons added their their lead in the 53rd minute when Alberto Gomez (Los Alamitos HS) fed a pass to Lopez, who once again, gathered the ball and sent a perfect shot into the far upper corner for his ninth tally of the season. Freshman Edgar Ausencio (Linda Esperanza Marquez HS) picked up his first goal of the year not long after when Pedro Reyes (Connections Academy HS/Cal State Fullerton) sent in a pass from a set piece, where Ausencio was able to scramble through a group of players and knock the ball into the net.

Sophomore Erick Velasco (Norwalk HS) closed out the scoring in the 75th minute with his fourth goal of the season on a fine pass that came from Daniel Vazquez (Perry Academy, GA HS).

Cerritos recorded their fourth shutout in the last six games, as freshmen Griffin Welch (Long Beach Poly HS) and Eduardo Enriquez (Linda Esperanza Marquez HS) combined to make two saves.

Photos by Daryl Peterson