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12.01.07
- Cerritos was unable to secure a victory over
Santa Ana to advance to the state
championships Saturday afternoon. |
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Photo
Gallery |
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It’s
hard to establish a rivalry when two teams only meet
each other in the post season. But, for the Cerritos
College and Santa Ana College men’s soccer programs,
they have firmly established an intensity that would
match up against any longstanding rivalries. With a
berth in the state championships at stake on Saturday
morning, the Dons handed the Falcons just their second
loss at home with a 2-1 victory. Cerritos, seeded #2 and
the defending state champions, conclude their season
with an 18-4-4 record, while #3-seeded Santa Ana
advances to the state championships next weekend at
Fresno Pacific University. Last season, Cerritos beat
the Dons on their home turf en route to their first
state title.
At the outset of
the game, Santa Ana was able to attack the depleted
Falcon lineup and scored a goal in the eighth minute,
thanks to a great deal of congestion in front of
freshman goalkeeper
Diego Milan
(Paramount HS). On a free kick from Ruben Ortiz,
the ball was set toward the net, where Sergio Arrias
chipped it in around all the players. It gave the Dons
the lead, but it seems to give the Falcons a spark.
Cerritos
controlled possession of the ball for a great deal of
time in the game, but had a hard time penetrating the
last line of defense of the Dons. By contrast, Santa Ana
made good use of the time they had the ball and put good
shots on goal against Milan.
Before the end
of the first half, the Falcons had a good chance to tie
the game, but a header by sophomore
Brian Alvarez
(Salesian HS) was turned away by Santa Ana
goalkeeper Julian Hernandez.
Midway through
the second half, Cerritos finally got on the scoreboard,
as the poor field conditions played a part in the tally.
Alvarez sent a ball along the right side to freshman
Michael Paz
(California HS), who chased the ball down.
Maintaining his momentum, he sent a shot on goal that
bounced hard and went over the diving hands of
Hernandez. However, just 10 minutes later, a fluke goal
would turn out the be the game-winner when a shot by
Miguel Cucue went through the hands of Milan, who
appeared to have made the save. On the shot, Milan dove
to his right side and it look as though he would
maintain control of the ball. But, the ball continued to
roll through his hands and into the goal with just under
14 minutes remaining.
It was Hernandez
who secured the win for Santa Ana, as he came up with a
spectacular diving save on a shot by Paz in the 80th
minute, while several other rushes resulted in shots
that were wide of the net. |
