By Aimee YEGHIAYAN

After a 2-2 tie to Muir on Jan. 4 and a 1-0 win against Glendale on Jan. 7, the Falcons were not ready to lose their first home game of season against the Burbank Bulldogs. They need not have worried as they neatly won Wednesday’s game 4-1.

With the win, CV improved to 2-0-1 in the Pacific League and 12-1-4 overall.

The first half began with an attempted goal, followed closely by a goal by Falcon Pablo Hernandez and Pablo Sotillo in the 33rd minute, then a save by goalkeeper Josh Cook in the 31st, then a goal by Falcon Eric Keshishian.

“It was a free kick awarded to us and we had a quick restart,” said Keshishian. “Erick Trejo played me the ball and I saw that there was only one defender in my way, so I decided to take him on. I was fortunate to get past him and get the goal.”

Then it was another goal, this time by Justin Wright in the 28th, followed by multiple corner kicks. The first was by Bulldog Fernando Chavez, kicked out of bounds by teammate Giovanni Gomez. A second attempt by CV was a successful goal after a corner kick by Sotillo, kicked in by Trejo. Finally, a corner kick by Chavez was saved by Cook.

In the fifth minute, an attempted goal by Wright was saved by Burbank’s goalkeeper, ending the first half at 3-0, Falcons.

Returning to the field, a goal was made by Burbank’s Dennis Palacio, getting one past Cook for the Bulldogs only goal of the game. A yellow card was given in the 26th minute, awarding Trejo a free kick, just missing to another goal.

In a final attempt at a Falcon goal, a foul kick for Rani Dimashki was saved by Burbank goalkeeper Galust Galstyan.

“This game the speed of play and being able to attack from the wides was a strength because that is our game plan,” said Keshishian, “so we just got the ball wide and looked to score.”

“Our strength is still our defense. [The boys] are starting to bond and build those relationships in the back that allow them to shut down another team’s attack,” said Falcon coach Grant Clark. “If our defense is playing well, it allows our offense to work and find the attack to score goals while being patient on the ball.

“I think our second biggest strength is our attitude. They each realize and have discussed how our goals will not come from one major source. Everyone will have to work together and that creates a true team atmosphere.”

  Aimee Yeghiayan, Ed HAMILTON