By Aimee YEGHIAYAN

After a 3-1 victory over Hoover on Monday, the Falcons boy’s soccer team was prepared for another win yesterday against Pasadena. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs proved to be more skilled than the Falcons expected, resulting in a 2-2 tie. CV moved to 4-0-2 in the Pacific League and 14-1-5 overall.

“We scored three goals really early,” said CV Coach Grant Clark of Monday’s game. “First three [in the] first half. One in the first minute, one in the 13th minute. Two were from Erick Trejo to Eric Keshishian, crosses from the right through the ball and one touch shots on goal.

“We played very well that game. We dominated the game, we kept the ball very well and a lot of kids got to play. It was a good game.”

That winning spirit did not carry over to the game Wednesday.

The game began slow, with very little occurring until 25 minutes in when there was an attempted goal by Pasadena, blocked by CV goalkeeper Josh Cook. This was followed by a kick for the Bulldogs, missing the goal completely and going out of bounds.

The first goal was scored in the 35th minute with a pass from Erick Trejo to Rani Dimashki, leaving the score going into halftime 1-0 in favor of the Falcons.

Entering the second half, the game was riddled with yellow cards for both sides. It seemed every other call turned into a card, although most were against the Falcons. After a yellow card on CV player Daniel Chang, Pasadena again kicked it out of bounds, missing the goal.

A goal was made by Trejo in the 12th minute, bringing the score 2-0, giving the Falcons a sense of security.

“I think we let off a little bit. We had them in a good spot for us, up 2-0, and we let them off,” said Coach Clark.

Pasadena finally scored in the 25th minute, with a penalty kick barely slipping past Cook.

Soon after, a yellow card was given to Coach Clark for arguing with the referee over what he felt was a faulty call.

The last goal of the game was in the Bulldogs favor, tying up the game 2-2 in the 30th minute. Unfortunately, despite attempts by both teams a final goal to win was not had.

“It is too bad because we had a good chance to take a commanding lead in the Pacific League and we let it slide a little bit,” said Coach Clark. “You can’t do that in the Pacific League. Every point matters,”

With so many key players, such as Pavle Atanacković, Salar Hajimirsadeghi, Alex Berger, and Nick Ruiz, graduating last June, it has been difficult for the Falcons.

“It is a lot different. There is a lot more learning to do and it is a different place [to be in],” said Matt Bracht.

“The players we have at this school right now and in the program, whether it be JV or varsity, are very good players. Even though we lost a lot of talent last year, the players have shown that they are up to the challenge and they are very good soccer players,” said Coach Clark. “It has been a little bit of an adjustment but the players have really stepped up and filled those voids. It is a credit to the players on how much they want to win, how much they want to play, and how much they practice.”

When asked about the game against Arcadia coming up on Friday, Clark said, “We try not to get too far ahead of ourselves in this one so we will start tomorrow and give them information on Arcadia. Arcadia is playing well but after a game like this, where it is 2-2, I think they are going to be mentally ready to go and anxious to jump on the field.”

  Aimee YEHGIAYAN, Ed HAMILTON, Sports