Seven-game winning streak ends after El Camino’s loss to Cerritos in men’s soccer

By Elsa Rosales|October 6, 2022

El Camino College Warriors forward Alek Palomares (16) takes the ball downfield past Cerritos College Falcons defender Jaret Rocha during a conference matchup at home on Oct. 4. The Warriors were defeated 4-1 and will play on Friday, Oct. 7, on the road against the Los Angeles City College Cubs. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

The El Camino College Warriors were unable to extend their seven-game winning streak against the No. 1 ranked Cerritos College Falcons in their first South Coast Conference game of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the El Camino College Soccer Field.

A series of high and wide shots were dealt by the Falcons for the first 30 minutes, but the Warriors responded with a shot from midfielder Carson Nguyen, two from forward Mario Carlos and one from forward Andy Cabrera, but none made it to the net.

“It’s a tough loss, but we’ll bounce back to it. It’s our conference, so we have to come back and go in even harder. I think this loss is a good loss to improve,” Cabrera said.

The first goal of the game came from Falcon defender Jaret Rocha. The Warriors responded with a shot from midfielder Jovaughn Cole and a headshot from defender Haruki Utsumi, but were unable to score.

The first half would end with the Warriors trailing 0-1.

El Camino College Warriors forward Mario Carlos (9) attempts to get the ball around Cerritos College Falcons forwards Michael Rodriguez (L) and Enrique Penate during a conference matchup at home on Oct. 4. The Warriors were defeated 4-1 and will play on Friday, Oct. 7, on the road against the Los Angeles City College Cubs. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

Ten minutes into the second half, Falcons midfielder Antonio Negrete scored, putting the game at 2-0. Carlos responded with a goal for the Warriors, closing in on the Falcons at 2-1.

Next, a pair of goals were scored by the Falcons, a penalty kick from midfielder Uriel Sanchez and a goal from forward Julian Vazquez, sealing the win of 4-1 for Cerritos.

The Warriors’ head coach Mike Jacobson praised Cerritos’ athletic abilities and hopes that the Warriors will face off against them again during playoffs.

“To start the league against Cerritos is always a difficult task. They are traditionally one of the better teams, not just in our conference, but in the state, so it’s always good to play them,” Jacobson said. “We’ve shown that we can do well against them.”

El Camino College Warriors defender Joshua Aguilera (19) battles with Cerritos College Falcons midfielder Allen Perez for control of the ball during a conference matchup at home on Oct. 4. The Warriors were defeated 4-1 and will play on Friday, Oct. 7, on the road against the Los Angeles City College Cubs. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

Similarly, Falcons head coach Benny Artiaga shared many of the same sentiments regarding Jacobson and El Camino. Artiaga said that fans were treated to a great matchup between the two teams.

“My respect and credit to Mike [Jacobson]. He’s done an amazing job with this program,” Artiaga said. “I’ve been around a long time and I haven’t seen this kind of consistency from El Camino, so it’s good that one other team in our conference is doing so well.”

The Warriors are now 8-2 overall and will play against the Los Angeles City College Cubs at the Los Angeles City College Soccer Field in a conference matchup on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

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