Continuing their fast starts to games, the Cerritos College men's soccer team jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against visiting Los Angeles Harbor College on their way to a 3-1 win on Tuesday. The South Coast Conference South Division win allowed the Falcons to remain in a tie for second place at the end of divisional play. The team still has two crossover games remaining that affect the divisional standings and will travel to Los Angeles City College on Friday for a 4:30 p.m. game.

The opening goal came in the fifth minute when sophomore Gustavo Arias (Fairmont Prep HS) fed a pass through the Seahawks defense to the foot of freshman Jason Hernandez (Bishop Mora Salesian HS), who chipped the ball past goalkeeper Sal Tojil.

"Today was not one of our better games. The energy was low to start the game," said head coach Benny Artiaga. "If we want to be a team who goes deep into playoffs, we better start to figure out some things quick. But all in all, a win is a win and we can start there."

Holding that lead heading into the second half, sophomore Julio Portillo (Central Value HS/East Los Angeles College) made it a 2-0 game on a perfectly placed direct kick from outside the 18-yard box for his seventh goal of the season. A nice one-time shot off the foot of Nathan Pineda (Santa Fe HS) in the 56th minute provided an insurance goal, with Portillo picking up the assist.

Goalkeeper Anthony Gomez (Los Alamitos HS) made one save in the first half, as LA Harbor did not provide any type of offensive pressure. The lone Seahawks goal came in the 60th minute when Eduardo Enriquez (Linda Esperanza Marquez HS), who came on in the second half, was well out of his net and Alan Navas chipped a shot over his head into an open net.

On the day, Cerritos outshot the Seahawks, 19-7, with 16 of those shots on goal.

Photos by Daryl Peterson