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| Sophomore
Rebecca Juarez (L) was recently named
1st Team All-American while teammate
Corina Villegas (R) was a 2nd
Team selection. |
|
On the heels of winning their first state
championship in school history in a very dramatic
come-from-behind victory over Santiago Canyon
College on Sunday, it was announced the Cerritos
College women’s soccer team finished the season
ranked #2 in the country, according to the (National
Soccer Coaches Association of America) NSCAA/adidas
Division III (non-scholarship)
National Rankings. The Falcons, who finished the season
with a 24-2-3 record, were beat out by Broome County
(NY) Community College for the national championship.
The Falcons defeated four of the teams that finished in the
final Top 15 in Division III - #3 Santiago Canyon,
#5 Fresno City, #9 San Diego Mesa and #13 Santa
Barbara City - with all of the wins coming in the
playoffs. Cerritos also defeated #8-ranked Richland
(TX) College and Polk (FL) County Community College,
which was ranked #6 in the final Division I
(scholarship) poll, while one of their two losses
was to eventual Division I national champion,
Catonsville (MD) College.
Individual
honors come with national recognition, as sophomore
midfielder
Rebecca Juarez (Jurupa Valley HS) was
named 1st Team NSCAA/adidas Women’s
Community College Division III All-America 1st
Team, while freshman forward
Corina Villegas (Perris HS) was a 2nd
Team selection. Juarez, who was named 2nd
Team All-American last year, was one of only three
players in the country to be honored two seasons in
a row. In addition, the two were also selected to
the Division III All-West Region Team, with Juarez
being chosen for the second year in a row. The
selection of Juarez is the first time a Falcon
women's soccer player has been named 1st Team
All-American in the school's history. Additionally,
Michael Paz (California HS) became
the first player in the history of the men's program
to be named 1st Team All-American.
The two will
be invited to the NSCAA All-America Luncheon, which
will be held on Saturday, January 19, as part of the
2008 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Md.
On the year,
Villegas broke and tied several school records with
her scoring. She scored 32 goals, which set a new
freshman record and tied the single-season record,
set by Kelly Walker during the 1996 season.
In addition, the 17 assists by Villegas ties the
freshman record, which was established by Juarez
last season. As for Juarez, she posted a
sophomore-record 16 assists this season, which
increased her career record to 33 helpers. |
