COD (0-0-1) kicked off the 2023 season in a big way hosting a perennial 3C2A State Title contender and taking leads of 1-0 and 2-1, before settling for a tie with the Cerritos Falcons (0-0-1), 2-2.

The Roadrunners played against the Cerritos Falcons for the first time in program history in 1979 and hold a 6-5-2 overall record against the Falcons. Desert has a 3-2-2 record against the Falcons at home.

The Roadrunners opened up the scoring in the 13th minute as sophomore midfielder Niklas Limbach (Troisdorf, Germany) and sophomore forward Jose Calderon, Jr. (Thermal Desert Mirage) assisted on a gorgeous goal from the right side of the field, passing to freshman midfielder Christian Gonzalez (Indio Shadow Hills) who poked a shot into the lower left corner of the net to give the home side a 1-0 advantage. Cerritos would equalize in the 27^th minute and both teams would go into the half tied at 1-1.

In the second half, Desert would take the lead once more, as Calderon, Jr. head maned a pass right up the middle, then passed the ball back to sophomore midfielder Alejandro Serrano-Carranza (Calexico H.S.) who promptly deposited the shot into the lower right corner to give the Roadrunners a 2-1 lead. The Falcons would tie the game once more in the 71^st minute. The visitors had a shot at taking a lead late, but a missed penalty kick high in the 78^th minute froze the tie.

Freshman goal keeper Diego Esparza (Palm Desert H.S.) received the start on opening day and sophomore goal keeper Luis Lucio (Palm Desert Xavier College Prep) wrapped up the game.

The next match-up for the Roadrunners will be hosting the Long Beach City Vikings on August 29th. Desert first competed against the Vikings in 1979 and hold an 8-3-1 overall record against them. The most recent time these two teams met was in 2008 and the most recent time the Roadrunners walked away with a win in the series was in 1994. The Roadrunners are undefeated at home against the Vikings, holding a 5-0 record in Palm Desert.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.