The El Camino men’s soccer team (4-4-2) fails to defend the net vs. Cerritos College (6-0-3) on Friday, Sept. 29 in their home turf, Murdock Stadium.

With Cerritos not having any losses this season, EC knew that this was the team to beat. The final score of the game was 3-1 resulting in EC’s fourth loss of the season.

EC started strong with a goal by sophomore forward Jason Santana in the 27th minute of the game. This goal put EC in the lead and brought the momentum of the game up.

EC held up strong as they stayed in the lead the whole first half. The goal by Santana helped EC continue to play strong for the rest of the half.

Quickly after the start of the second half, Cerritos came back and tied the game with a goal in the 55th minute. Another goal from Cerritos quickly followed in the 59th minute, making the score 2-1.

EC had 31 minutes to redeem themselves and tie and possibly win the game, however, that was not the case.

Cerritos, in the 87th minute, where only three minutes remained of the game, scored one last time. This goal brought and kept Cerritos at a win of 3-1.

After Cerritos made their goals, EC began to lose confidence. Misa Serrano, sophomore mid-fielder, believed the team began to slack off in the second half.

“The team lacked consistency in the second half,” Serrano said. “We also let the other team get to our head and we forgot about our style of play.”

Although the team did lose consistency after the first half, there were still some positive aspects that the men showed today.

Manuel Flores, freshman mid-fielder, saw the hard work that his teammates showed today during the game.

“We stayed composed during the first half,” Flores said. “I feel that the team gave it all we had until the very last minute of the game, regardless of the outcome.”

After playing vs. Cerritos, EC players are aware of what needs to be done in order to win their next game.

Santana, who made his fifth goal of the season this game, believes in his team and their ability to succeed.

“The team must keep their heads up during the games,” Santana said. “We must continue to play 100% no matter what the score is.”

Serrano, Santana and Flores all know what themselves and their teammates are capable of and know that the team needs the right mentality to win.

“We need to fight for every ball like its the last,” Serrano said. “We need to want the win more than the other team.”

Next game: At Canyons on Tuesday, Oct. 3. at 5:00 p.m.