By Alan Der OHANNESSIAN

It was another easy day Wednesday for the Falcons soccer team (6-0-3 league) as it cruised past Burroughs High School (3-2-2 league) with a final score 4-1.
In the first minutes of the match, it appeared that the teams were evenly matched as both were exchanging shots on target.
On one possession, Burroughs defender Brian Arzate played a long pass to forward Kevin Mundo inside the penalty box; however his shot was blocked by Falcons defender Reilly Solis.
The Indians had a chance to score when forward Kc Aquino’s free kick struck to the left side, but Falcons goalkeeper Nick Ruiz dived and saved it with the tips of his fingers as the ball went out for a corner.
The Falcons were also aggressive on the offensive end.
CV midfielder Jaehoon Jung shot from outside the penalty box striking the post on the right side of the goalkeeper, much to the frustration of the Falcons coach. Fortunately, CV’s effort eventually got them on the scoreboard.
Burroughs passed the ball back to goalkeeper Steve Menjivar however CV forward Pavle Atanackovic blocked his shot as he jumped while shooting. The ball hit Atanackovic’s backside, sending it into the net for the Falcons’ first goal.
The Indians responded back with a goal of their own. Midfielder Francisco Baez played a lob to forward Manuel Celio whose header struck to the right side of goalkeeper Ruiz as the match was tied at one apiece.
However the Falcons got the lead back when midfielder Alex Berger played a lob as Atanackovic beat two defenders for a header that struck to the left side of the goalkeeper bringing CV up by one.
It was only minutes later that the Falcons expanded their lead to three when midfielder Jung got the ball as the Burroughs’ defense was trying to clear it from inside the penalty box. He was left unguarded and the shot struck to the left side as the goalkeeper watched the ball sail into the net.
The Falcons held their ground going into halftime with a commanding lead.
In the second half, the CV defense was sluggish in response to a beefed-up Burroughs offense in an effort to salvage the match. But though Burroughs kept shooting the ball they were off the mark.
On another possession, an Indian midfielder played lob inside the penalty box to fellow midfielder Joan Alvarez having to beat only the goalkeeper for a goal, but it struck wide to the left side of Ruiz.
Despite their poor performance offensively, the Falcons did manage to score for the last time.
Forward Atanackovic was tackled by Burroughs defender inside the penalty box for a penalty kick. Substitute goalkeeper John Castro guessed wrong as Atanackovic put it to his right side for a 4-1 lead.
Head Coach Keil McClung said it was the Falcons’ killer instinct and team defense that were the reasons for their success.
“We challenged them to have the killer instinct and Pavle punished them,” McClung said. He added that the team was playing better defense as they were allowing five to six shots a match and creating 14 opportunities for themselves.
The Falcons next play at Hoover High School on Friday at 3:30.

  Burroughs, CV soccer