Falcons win their 20th game with dominating defense and efficient offense, setting up a week of key rematches with the Pasadena schools.

By Brandon HENSLEY

With every shot put up by a Hoover player Tuesday night in the first quarter came groans from some of the students in the stands. And with every miss those groans turned into cheers. On this night, it wasn’t just about fans wanting to see their CV boys’ basketball team beat the Tornadoes, but rather enjoy a dubious scene unravel before them from the team in purple and black.

And what a scene it was. Hoover did not score a single point in the first quarter, and not until the 5:54 mark of the second when Ando Adjemian’s 3-pointer went in did the number change on the scoreboard under the word Visitor.

The Falcons dominated early and often, building a 15-0 lead after one quarter and won 78-31, clinching the team’s third straight 20-win season, putting them currently at 20-4 (8-2 in the Pacific League).

Once the ball passed half court, CV pressured fast and furious, forcing numerous turnovers. Maybe it was all in preparation for Friday’s big game against Pasadena, but whatever the case, the defensive mindset was impressive.

“Our goal is to ball pressure as much as we can and limit good looks and I think we did that,” said CV Coach Shawn Zargarian.

“We came out with focus. We were all just playing really well, so it was nice,” said senior guard Dylan Kilgour. CV has won four games in a row, having beaten Burbank last Friday 62-55.

Kilgour’s offense was also a spark. He scored 15 points, including four 3-pointers. In all, the Falcons were on top of their game from beyond the arch, shooting an eye-popping 9-of-17 from that distance.

Zargarian almost didn’t have words for how well Kilgour shoots the ball.

“We don’t keep a record book of percentage, but last year he was in the 40s from the 3-point line. It’s just unheard of,” Zargarian said. “When he’s open, I’m shocked when he misses … even when he misses it looks good.”

Hoover played CV almost evenly in the second quarter, but the floodgates opened in the third. Cole Currie drained a 3-pointer at 5:39 of the quarter to make the lead 47-18. By the end of the quarter, it was 68-25.

The Falcons like to push the tempo on offense, and were extra aggressive Tuesday. Forward Christian Misi didn’t score many – just three points, all on free throws – but he grabbed 10 rebounds, leading to numerous fast breaks, and Kilgour and Currie took care of the rest (Currie had 14 points).

Against a smaller team like Hoover, Zargarian said he likes his team to go inside first and that will open up shots from the outside.

“I thought our guards took good shots, good open shots, and made them,” Zargarian said.

CV’s reserves came in and played well, with guard Razmik Hacobyan scoring nine points in the second half.

A noticeable change as the season goes on is who Zargarian puts on the court to start the game. Rudy Avila came into the year entrenched as the starting center, but has since been replaced several times by guard Tade Keshishyan or forward Elliot Wilson. Wilson started Tuesday and played “great,” according to Zargarian.

“It’s dependent on matchups and it’s dependent on guys coming in and working hard,” Zargarian said. “I think Elliot’s been working his butt off and getting better. The last four games he’s started for us we’ve had wins.”

The Tough Week Ahead
The Falcons will have to work that much harder Friday at CV, when they will try and even the score against Pasadena. Friday is also Senior Night for CV.

“We have a sour taste in our mouth after last time, and this comes down to pride,” Zargarian said.

But it won’t get any easier on Tuesday when CV travels to Muir. Both teams beat CV in January by over 20 points.

Those schools are the measuring sticks in the Pacific League. CV is still in third place behind Pasadena (9-1) and Muir (10-1). Muir features long and athletic players, and Pasadena features physical players, like Brandon Jolley, that gave CV a hard time previously.

Kilgour was asked specifically what needs to be done against the Bulldogs in the rematch. He said he didn’t really remember their Jan. 13 affair. Maybe that’s a good thing.

“We’re watching film tomorrow, I’m sure Coach Z has stuff in mind,” he said. “We have to play CV basketball and we’ll be fine.

“I think we’re in a better place now. We’re clicking right now and so it’s going to be fun to come out and play Pasadena.”

Zargarian said he wants to see his team come out energized and compete better than they did before. A loss wouldn’t wreck the season, he said, and a league title isn’t what he’s concentrating on at the moment.

“Not that it’s out of reach but it’s kind of somewhere where it’s not in our hands,” he said. “We just have to take care of our business. It’s a pride game Friday night. We’re going to come out and fight. All we can do is play as hard as we can.”

The second season of CV Weekly Fantasy Football came to a close last week with local dentist Terry Webber edging Dan Hooper of Andy’s Storage 56-53 for the championship.

On Labor Day weekend, more than two-dozen players kicked off the season. During the 17-week season, there were nine different weekly winners. Hooper led the pack winning four times.

Defending champion Holly Heurkins, middle school student Taylor Bosveld, business executive Pat Longo, Montrose Ambassador Steve Pierce and Dr. Terry Webber, D.D.S. each won twice during the season. At the end of the regular season, 12 players qualified for the playoffs. Hooper and Webber emerged from the very hotly contested semi-finals with 84 points apiece. Hooper won the semis by virtue of a tie breaker. Heurkins’ season ended with 81 points.

The second season was a success with the players already looking forward to next year. CV Weekly Fantasy Football III returns in August.

By Timithie NORMAN

The Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer team hosted the Hoover Tornadoes Tuesday, winning 3-1 to continue their undefeated (9-0-2) run in Pacific League play this season. The victory ensured that the Falcons will be awarded at least a share of the league title, which the Falcons have claimed for the last two seasons.

Senior captain Pavle Atanackovic got things started early in the first half when he headed the ball into the Hoover goal after a cross from Jaehoon Jung. Both Atanackovic and senior Mike Shahnazarians were back on the field for the match after sitting out Friday’s 4-0 win against Burbank because of red card penalties the previous game.

The first half saw Hoover (2-5-4) make a few good runs, but only two shots on goal. Crescenta Valley’s ball control and strong passing game were no match for the Tornadoes struggling defense, which gave up another two goals before halftime. Senior Salar Hajimirsadeghi scored on a cross from junior Erick Trejo in the 19th minute; Trejo scored his own goal soon after to take the Falcon lead to 3-0.

Atanackovic had a promising drive down the field that put him one-on-one with Hoover goalkeeper Malek Azadegan, but Azadegan made the first of his three one-on-one saves just before the half.

The Falcon momentum waivered in the messy second half with what Head Coach Grant Clark called “a few dips in intensity.” The referees came alive, however, awarding a smattering of yellow cards to players on both teams that interrupted the flow of the game and riled up players and spectators alike.

Hoover was given a penalty kick late in the game, the result of a handball in the Falcon penalty box. CV goalkeeper Nick Ruiz made the save, but soon after Tornado Patrick Awad made a drive for the goal that created a collision with Ruiz and teammate Carlos Oblea. All three scrambled for the ball, but Awad was able to put it in the empty net for Hoover’s only score of the game.

“We played well,” said Clark after the game. “This game showed why they are league champions. They earned it.”

Now at the end of a compressed schedule, Crescenta Valley has just three more matches in league play. Clark anticipates that their next game against Pasadena will be their toughest remaining match.

“They are a good team, and we can’t look past them,” he said. “Plus, it’s our last home game of the season so it means a lot to the seniors on the team.”

The Falcons face Pasadena High School on Friday at 3:15 p.m. at Crescenta Valley.

The Lady Falcons’ basketball team was 12-10 overall and 4-6 in Pacific League play heading into Wednesday night’s game at Hoover. CV beat Hoover 65-28 on Jan. 11. The team suffered a tough loss last Friday at home to Burbank, 43-42.

Against the Bulldogs, it was a game of runs early on. CV led 6-2 before Burbank pushed ahead 14-8. The Falcons tied it at 17. Burbank led 22-21 at halftime.

The Falcons had 7-2 surge in the third to build a five point lead, 34-29. Guard Catherine Davis led the way, scoring four of the five points on free throws. Center Samira Seraji left the quarter with 3:52 remaining due to foul trouble, thus affecting Falcons offense.

“Our offense bogged down,” said Coach Jason Perez.

Both teams went on a scoring drought at the beginning of the final quarter. Burbank’s Damarie Gonzalez made a three-point play, scoring a basket along with free throw with 6:36 remaining for a 37-34 Bulldogs lead.

It came down to the final seconds. Davis hit a 3-pointer for a 40-39 CV lead. The Bulldogs responded with a two pointer by Gonzalez to regain the lead, before CV’s Ella Stepanian made two free throws.

But then Davis was called for a foul on the baseline trying to defend Gonzalez, who made the free throws with seven seconds remaining, and the Falcons couldn’t score on the next possession, losing 43-42.

Perez was upset at the call on Davis after the game.

“They come out and play their hardest only to lose on a blocking foul on the baseline behind the basket,” said Perez  with anger.

He continued, “It’s a questionable call, such a bad way to lose.”

CV hosts Pasadena on Friday and Muir on Tuesday. Both of those teams beat the Falcons in January. CV was sixth in the league standings as of Wednesday.

Boys’ basketball gets back on track, putting the losses to Pasadena and Muir in the rearview mirror – for now.

By Brandon HENSLEY

The league schedule of high school basketball only lasts from the beginning of January to the second week of February, so perhaps there’s not enough time to really pinpoint the dog days of the season, which can easily be done in professional leagues.

With that said, yeah, these are the dog days for the Falcons boys’ basketball team. CV players just completed playing three games in six days against seemingly mediocre teams while trying to study for finals this week.

In short, finding the energy to push through can be a challenge this time of year. Coach Shawn Zargarian isn’t even immune, as he was battling a cold this week.

Nonetheless, after two lopsided losses to Pasadena and Muir earlier this month, the Falcons shook off the rust and are now on a three-game winning streak, having defeated Burroughs Wednesday night 64-38. Last Friday they beat Arcadia at home 57-45, and won at Glendale 62-45 on Monday.

Against Arcadia and Glendale, CV struggled in the first quarter (they trailed the Apaches 13-6 after one), prompting Zargarian to shake his head afterward at his team’s inability to generate energy early on.

“I don’t have an answer coming out flat in first quarters,” he said. “We better stop doing that or it’s going to cost us a game.

“We talked about a Monday afternoon game at Glendale, you have to find a way to get up for it. The way we started, it seemed like we weren’t up for it and it was going to be dangerous but it took  awhile and we woke up.”

Senior forward Christian Misi continued a string of stellar play this week. On Friday he had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and on Monday he had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Even in the losses to the Pasadena schools his play was one of the few bright spots.

“I was in kind of a slump and trying to force too many things, and these couple of weeks with losses to Pasadena and Muir,” Misi said. “’I’ve gone back to playing my game, just creating and us playing as a team and it’s helped a lot.”

Junior guard Cole Currie, a normal spark on offense, had just one point on Monday, but his backcourt teammate Dylan Kilgour stepped up, scoring 15 points, including a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to push CV’s lead to 46-33.

Kilgour also played solid defense on Glendale guard Sevan Pogosyan, who was explosive in the first meeting, scoring 23 points. This time, Kilgour held Pogosyan to 14 points.

“I turned around to our assistant coaches at one point during the game and said I think he’s our most reliable player,” said Zargarian. “He played denial defense on [Pogosyan] — which is tough because that guy moves around – made open shots when he was open and found open guys when they were open.

“We needed [Dylan] tonight. Cole didn’t have the type of game that he usually has.”

So What Now?
CV improved this week to 18-4 and 7-2 in league. As of Wednesday the Falcons are third in the Division 1A Southern Section standings, and are third behind Muir and Pasadena in the Pacific League (Muir is the only undefeated team at 9-0).

It might be natural to look ahead to a rematch with both teams, as both schools left a bad taste in CV’s mouth last time. The Muir game will be on Feb. 3 and the Pasadena rematch will be four days later.

“We’ll remember it so we don’t go back to that point,” Misi said. “We’ve never played at that low of a level since we’ve been playing together … but it’s behind us in the past and we move on.

“Every game is must-win for us right now and we have to do our part,” he continued. “We have to come out and give 100% no matter who’s on the court, and just play our game.”

Zargarian said the team looked at film recently and realized defensive energy was lacking. He said on Monday he felt his guys had moved on from the losses. CV plays Burbank on Friday.

“[We] just have to stay engaged and focused,” Zargarian said.

Lady Falcons Take Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
The CV girls’ basketball team lost to Burroughs Wednesday 38-29. Before that  they beat Arcadia 54-42 on Friday and won vs. Glendale  41-37 on Monday at CV.

Against Arcadia, sophomore guard Ella Stepanian scored 22 points, center Samira Seraji had 11 and guard Catherine Davis put in nine. That trio has been the source of most of the Falcons’ points all season.

“We played a really good game,” said Coach Jason Perez on Friday. “We did an unbelievable job of finding the open man … handling pressure,” Perez said.

CV was able to win despite Arcadia’s Melody Chang putting in 25 points (although it did take her 33 shots to get there).

On Monday, Stepanian had 11 points and six rebounds, and Seraji had 16 points four rebounds.

The Falcons (12-9 overall, 4-5 in league) were tied for third place in the Pacific League as of Wednesday afternoon with Arcadia, which  had a 4-4 record. Muir is 9-0 and in first place and Burbank is second at 6-3.

The Falcons host Burbank on Friday at 5:45 p.m. Burbank won the first contest Jan. 6, 41-34.

By Brandon HENSLEY

Rosemont Middle School played its first flag football game of the season Jan. 19 against Roosevelt Middle School. The team lost in overtime, 25-24, but that’s hardly cause to be negative considering how much the program has improved.

The YMCA ran the program last year and, to paraphrase new coach Jim Mustain, it wasn’t taken very seriously. But this season, Mustain, who teacher P.E. at the school, was appointed coach by the administration to get more serious, while still keeping the fun of it all.

He also has a specific idea in mind.

“This year, we’ve come off the recreational part and we’ve groomed the program to be like CV [High], in terms of we’re running it like a program,” Mustain explained.

A sort of minor league system to develop jr. high kids as they graduate and look to play football for CV? According to Mustain, yeah, a little bit.

“We coach the kids, they come in and have lunchtime meetings, we coach everything on the chalkboard,” he said. “Then we go onto the field. They learn [football] just like a class as opposed to a recreational sport.”

Mustain said he was put on to coach at the last minute. His team only had 12 days of practice before its first game, while he said Roosevelt had a month to prepare.     But Mustain is a former tight end for Temple City High School, and played college ball in the Midwest. He has spent time coaching at CV, and he said he feels comfortable taking on the role.

“For me this is not a big deal. This is what I do. I do everything as if I was coaching the high school [team],” he said.

It helps to have some of the CV players come and give the kids some lessons.  Quarterback Alex Duplessis, wide receiver Kevin Cooper and lineman Mitch Skinner have all visited Rosemont’s practices.

Learning the game for the first time can be tough for the players, said Mustain, especially knowing the terminology.

“Like we describe to our kids, it’s like learning a foreign language,” he said.

Against Roosevelt, Rosemont tied the score late in the game 18-18 to force overtime. After Roosevelt scored and converted the extra point, Rosemont came back and scored, and had a chance to tie it at 25-25, but the ball was dropped in the end zone.

“Our kids played well; they just played young,” Mustain said. “They only had 12 days to prepare, and I think they did very well. So I think it’ll be different when we play them again.”

The schools in the league are Rosemont, Roosevelt, Toll and Wilson middle schools. Every team plays each other twice, once at home and once away. A championship game will be held at Roosevelt for the top two teams at the end of the season.

Win or lose, Mustain is thinking ahead.

“My goal to prepare them. You know, a lot of them are eighth graders going into CV next year and I want to help build the CV program. … We want to teach the kids as much as we can and encourage them to go out later on and prep them for what it’s going to be like at the next level.”

The Falcon Boys U14 conference team won their first tournament of 2012.     The team is coached by Paul Schilling and took first place in the Pasadena Vikings New Year’s Bash. They defeated the Antelope Valley Hoyas by a score of 42-41 in the final. The Hoyas had beaten them by 15 in pool play, but wiwth focus and hard work the Falcons beat them in the final.

Shown above from left are Justin Rountree, Niko Kalpakian, Tanner Schilling, Bostin Lakin, Chris Prah, Colin Caver, Coach Schilling, Bradley Stonebraker and Chris Reik. Not pictured Arin Ovanessian.

Contributed by Dee REIK

By Alan der OHANNESSIAN

The Falcons took care of the Indians 4-0 on the road Wednesday afternoon, running their record to 11-0-6 overall and 7-0-2 in the Pacific League.

Senior Pavle Atanackovic scored twice in a heated battle mired by red and yellow cards.

The Falcons were riding a two-game winning streak coming into the game. They beat Arcadia 3-0 last Friday and downed Glendale 7-1 on Monday. They had beaten Burroughs 7-0 in their previous meeting.

The Falcons controlled the game from the beginning, attempting to seal the deal early.

“We just wanted to score early, put them away,” said Atanackovic.

Within minutes after kickoff, the Falcons were on the board already.

Alex Berger made a lob as Atanackovic took it on the fly and kicked it forcefully, giving the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.

Later, Berger again found Atanackovic for a pass inside the penalty area but it was intercepted by K.C. Aquino.

The Falcons kept on the attack. Midfielder  Michael Shanazarians found Atanackovic just before the penalty area but his shot was wide just above the cross bar.

Shanazarians got the ball out of a scramble but his shot was off target. His effort was rewarded minutes later when he played a long pass to Atanackivc but the goalkeeper intercepted it as both were vying for the ball.

Atanackovic was able to get the rebound and put the ball into the empty net for a two-goal lead.

The Falcons weren’t finished yet. When Berger found Eric Trejo on a grounder corner kick, he scored effortlessly for a commanding 3-0 lead.

Frustrated, the Indians were called for a dangerous foul.

Julio Guillermo tackled Tony Royer hard, resulting in a yellow card.

CV players were already screaming, “It’s got to be a card,” in support of their teammate.

Burroughs was only able to get one shot on CV goalie Nick Ruiz before halftime. Ruiz made four saves in the game.

The Indians came out with renewed vigor, attacking at the beginning of the second half, and things continued to be physical.

The Indians’ Alex Avelar  Escalante was the offender this time when he tackled Royer, leading to a red card.

“Both teams played physical,” said Atanackovic.

Matt Schmutzer found Pablo Sotillo inside the penalty area and he scored to extend the lead to 4-0.

CV holds a comfortable lead for first in the Pacific League. Pasadena is in second with a 4-2-1 record.

The Falcons host Burbank on Friday at 3:15 p.m.

Boys’ basketball team cools off after getting handled by both Pasadena schools.

By Brandon HENSLEY

The Falcons boys’ basketball team stumbled through two games this past week against Pasadena and Muir high schools, and if other teams in the Pacific League were paying attention, they could see a possible chink in the CV armor. Or perhaps that’s a huge dent.

Tuesday night’s 76-56 loss to Muir put the Falcons on a two-game losing streak and had Coach Shawn Zargarian questioning what exactly has happened after his team started league play with four straight wins. CV lost at Pasadena last Friday 80-59.

“We’re not ourselves right now, and I don’t know what it is,” Zargarian said. “We’re taking a lot of bad shots. We’re not making the extra pass. We don’t have any kind of defensive energy.”

Of course, this all might have something to do with the level of competition. Muir and Pasadena are the only undefeated teams left in the Pacific League (both 6-0). They meet each other on Friday.

Both teams can match CV’s size, which previously gave the Falcons an advantage over schools like Burroughs and Hoover.

Against Muir, the Falcons’ (15-4, 4-2 in league) early game plan defensively seemed to be to play off  Muir’s guards. But Andre Frazier scored eight points in the first quarter and the Mustangs had a 20-18 lead.

When Muir did miss shots, the Falcons gave up too many second-chance opportunities.

“They’re just hungrier,” Zargarian said. “I feel like our guys are watching balls when their guys every time are pursuing and going after it. They outplayed us … in almost every facet of the game tonight.”

The first play of the game was certainly a red herring. Christian Misi took the Rudy Avila tip and quickly passed it to Davis Dragovich for an easy layup. The Falcons had struck with less than five seconds off the clock.

But CV didn’t convert many high percentage shots after that. Dragovich finished with nine points, but could have  had several more if not for some blown layups. In all, the Falcons missed 22 shots inside the paint.

“I think it’s going up to the rim, scared that you’re going to get your shot blocked and not finishing at the rim,” Zargarian said. “There’s no way with Davis, Christian and Rudy’s size, we go up to the basket and not finish. [But] we’re always looking over our shoulders.”

Muir led 50-41 heading into the fourth, and the first play of that quarter was evidence enough that this was another night not to be for the Falcons.

Guard Cole Currie came off a screen and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Avila was called for an illegal screen. Moments later, Muir’s Jelani Mitchell hit a 3-pointer. By the time it was 66-47, Zargarian had started putting in his reserves.

Mitchell led his team with 19 points, most of them coming in the final quarter.

As he did against Pasadena, Misi led the Falcons in scoring. He had 18 points against the Bulldogs and 20 on Tuesday, to go along with 13 rebounds. But it wasn’t enough. Currie put in 12 points. When CV needed a spark, Currie often went into isolation and rose up to shoot over his defender. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but the Falcons regardless needed better outside shooting.

Guard Dylan Kilgour made two 3-pointers, but missed several more. That won’t stop the Falcons from shooting their way out of this slump, though.

“We’re going to shoot the three. Every single night we’re going to shoot the three,” Zargarian said.

The Falcons still have rematches with both teams, so a league title isn’t out of the question. Zargarian didn’t want to hear any of that, though. Not on this night. He said the team had good practices and meetings on Saturday and Monday, making Tuesday’s effort all the more frustrating.

“We’re not mentally engaged right now,” he said.

Jan. 13: Pasadena 80, CV 59
The Falcons lost their first league game of the season in front of a standing-room only crowd at Pasadena. The Bulldogs had enough size the quickness as CV fell behind 20-13 after one quarter and could not catch up.

Pasadena junior forward Brandon Jolley, all 6-foot-5, 220 pounds of him, beat up CV down low, scoring 17 points. Guard Blake Hamilton scored 18 points.

The game was less chippy than CV’s other affairs with Burbank and Hoover previously, but it was no less physical. The Falcons lost some of their size when center Rudy Avila picked up his fourth foul with more than three minutes to go in the third quarter and had to be benched.

A turning point came in that quarter when, down 50-37, Misi drove the lane was knocked down by two defenders. Zargarian exploded from the bench wanting  a foul, though one wasn’t called. Hamilton got the ball all alone at the other end and slammed it home, igniting the crowd.

Rivalry Week
On Friday, a rivalry is renewed. Maybe it carries less weight this week because CV has lost two in a row, and Arcadia is only 2-3 in league, but the Falcons vs. Apaches is still sure to draw a big crowd to CV’s gym.

Last February at CV, Cole Currie drove the length of the court and hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Falcons a 69-68 win over Arcadia.

Atanackovic scores triple in the win as Falcons’ season-long domination continues with 4-0 victory.

By Alan der OHANNESSIAN

Falcons soccer is like a freight train, running over teams with little effort. Consequently, barring a miracle, the Mustangs were destined to lose on Friday. CV defeated the co-Pacific League leader Pasadena 2-1 and then handled Muir on Tuesday with ease, winning at home 4-0.

CV is now in first place, all alone at 4-0-2. The team is 8-0-6 overall.

The Falcons, as usual, put Mustangs’ defense on its heels from the beginning. Within six minutes of kickoff, the Falcons scored their first goal as Alex Berger played a 20-yard pass from midfield to Erick Trejo inside the penalty area who put it past the goalkeeper Peter Tapia for a 1-0 lead.

The first goal was just a precursor to what was coming.

The Falcons scored again as Salar Hajimirsadeghi was fouled inside the penalty area resulting in a penalty shot.

Though the goalkeeper guessed the correct side, he couldn’t prevent the goal as Atanackovic put it to his left for a two-goal lead, his first of three for the day.

Muir changed goalkeepers, bringing in substitute Francisco Arzulela Diaz in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

But CV kept hammering at the opposition.

Atanackovic attempted a cross-pass to Berger into the penalty area, but Juan Rubalcava intercepted it.

That didn’t slowdown Berger as he had another opportunity at scoring but his attempted lob over the keeper sailed wide to the left.

The third time was not the charm as Berger made another try, but hit the upper crossbar.

Finally, agile Jung Jaehoon spaced himself, finding Atanackovic inside the penalty area who tipped the ball as Diaz dove to his right for the save by the tips of his fingers.

Trejo passed to Atanackovic inside the penalty area who effortlessly shot it to the upper left.

Though the Mustangs had every reason to despair, they retained their fighting spirit.

Francisco Ortiz miss-kicked a lob that almost went into the Falcons’ net, catching Nick Ruiz by surprise.

Ruiz was tested again, diving to his left to save a shot by Rodrigo Luna as the Falcons had a commanding lead going into halftime.

Retaking the field, it seemed the team lost its intensity. While they did have their share of opportunities, it was much less compared to the first half.

Berger recognized the goalkeeper was out of position, and attempted a lob. However luck wasn’t on his side and the ball hit the upper crossbar. On a free kick, he tried to surprise the keeper by kicking straight into the net instead of lobbing to teammate Atanackovic but it sailed just outside the left bar.

But the Falcons recovered enough to score again when Atanackovic caught a rebound off Hajimirsadeghi, soundly putting it into the empty net for a 4-0 lead.

Despite the impressive win, Coach Grant Clark felt the team left some gaps open compromising their defense. He added that the team was lucky for not conceding a goal because of those mistakes, but believes that won’t be the case come playoff time.

The team is committed to keeping their winning freight train on track.

“We want to win every game,” said Atanackovic. “We’re hoping to reach the finals this year.”

The Falcons next host Arcadia on Friday at 3:15 p.m.