With time running out in their non-conference game against visiting Taft College, the Cerritos College men's soccer team was looking for some late-game heroics on Tuesday. The opposite ended up happening, as the Cougars (5-2-1) scored in the final five minutes of the game, which sent the Falcons to a rare 2-1 home loss. The team will now travel to Norco College for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference game on Friday.

Including this season, Cerritos (5-3-0) has gone 70-7-11 on their home field since 2017.

The Cougars opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, but the Falcons were quick to respond with a tally of their own.

Taking a free kick on the Taft side of the field, sophomore Christian Ramirez (Bishop Mora Salesian HS) was able to get an initial look at the goal, while freshman Jason Hernandez (Bishop Mora Salesian HS) was there to clean up the rebound and found an open corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Cerritos was able to control possession of the ball for the majority of the game, but were unable to make that final pass that would clear them for a high percentage shot. The team attempted the majoring of their shots from long distance, with only five of their 11 attempts on goal.

Taft scored their winning goal off a corner kick, with a loose ball fed across the defense inside the 18-yard box for a chip-in by Jose Luis Covarrubias.

Photos by Daryl Peterson