After having a header saved on the goal line by a defender, El Camino College Warriors captain Melvyn Perez-Cortez pushed in a rebound inside the six-yard box for his second goal late in the second half to seal the game for the ECC Warriors.

The ECC men’s soccer team shutout Norco 2-0 behind another strong performance from the defense and are now off to their best start (4-0-1) since the 2010 season.

“We practice how to defend as a unit,” ECC Warriors defender Armando Alonzo said. “So far, we’ve done the job that the coaches are asking for, we’re organized in the back.”

With both teams entering the match undefeated, the ECC Warriors extend their winning streak to three games as they handed Norco College their first loss of the season. Norco was held scoreless but their offense scored eight goals in their previous three matches.

Perez-Cortez’s opened the scoring in the 40th minute of the match with a potent shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that went past Norco’s goalkeeper.

Perez-Cortez now leads the team in goals scored with three.

ECC Warriors coach Michael Jacobson said he knew the opposing head coach well and anticipated a tough match.

“The defense did an amazing job,” ECC goalkeeper Luis Garibay said. “It’s cool to have that in our system.”

The ECC Warriors have shutout four of their five opponents so far this season and have conceded just one goal in five matches. The lone goal given up came from a penalty kick against Glendale College.

Jacobson is eager to restore the glory of ECC’s men’s soccer team and hopes that the whole program can become a shining light for ECC, similar to the teams from the 1980s and 1990s.

“It’s been a couple of years that we haven’t been as good as we [want],” Alonzo said. “This year we have a good team, so we’re getting the results we want and hopefully we can [win] championships with this team.”

The ECC Warriors have not won a California Community College Athletic Association state championship since 1992 when they defeated Chabot College in the final under head coach Jim Millinder.

The ECC Warriors will look to keep their dream start going, as well as their undefeated and winning streaks rolling, when they visit Moorpark College (1-2-0) at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13.