For the second year in a row and third time in the last four years, Benny Artiaga has seen his Cerritos College men’s soccer team finish the season ranked #2 in the country by the National Soccer Association of America (NSCAA) Division III (non-scholarship). The first two times they finished the season ranked #2, the Falcons were coming off state championships. In 2009, his team was one game away from advancing to the state tournament, but were defeated in the third round by eventual champion Mt. San Antonio, which was the same team they finished behind in the South Coast Conference standings. At the conclusion of the season, Artiaga found out that sophomore Luis Gonzalez was named the National Player of the Year, a first for a Cerritos College men’s soccer player. Additionally, 11 of his players received scholarships, which runs his total to 39 players since 2004.

Artiaga, now in his sixth season as the head coach, and 11^th overall, has guided his teams to either a state championship or within one game of advancing to the state tournament in the last four seasons. They concluded last season with a 19-3-2 record and if not for a 2-1 loss to the Mounties that saw their rival score twice in the final 15 minutes of the game. In his time as the Falcon head coach, Artiaga has compiled a 91-22-15 (.770) record, while they have finished either first or second in the SCC in each of the last four years.

During the state championship year of 2008, Artiaga led the team to a 22-4-1 campaign, capped by a thrilling 1-0 win over rival Mt. San Antonio College. The win over the Mounties was the fourth of the season for the Falcons, who went on to claim the #2 ranking in the country by the NSCAA Division III. Back in 2006, Artiaga took his second team to the state title game, where they posted a 1-0 win over Taft College to win the school’s first championship. In addition to his team titles, Artiaga was has also been named the Far West Coach of the Year twice, as well as the NSCAA Junior College National Coach of the Year in 2006. He has also been named the South Coast Conference Coach of the year in 2006 and 2008.

After winning their first state title in 2006, the program produced their first All-American, as Michael Paz was named NSCAA/adidas Community College Men’s Division III 1^st Team All-American. Since then, the program has had four other players earn All-American honors. During the 2006 state championship season, the team went 20-3-5 on the year and was ranked #1 in the state and #2 in the nation. Also, in the summer after the 2006 season, Artiaga was also hired as full-time Instructor/Coach at the college.

Now entering his 11^th year overall with the Falcon coaching staff, Artiaga was the lead assistant in the 2004 season, as the team finished the year ranked third in the nation and second in the state. He served as Interim Head Coach prior to the start of the 2004 season assuming roles with recruiting, scheduling, academics, budgeting and team management.

Artiaga holds a national Class B license from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), National Fitness Level 1 diploma, also from USSF, and an advanced diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He has also been invited to serve on the USSF soccer training staff. After playing for the Falcons on their 2001 team, Artiaga remained with the team in a coaching capacity. Among his qualifications are participating many years of CSL and playing under two soccer programs (Cerritos and Long Beach City College), while during his time enlisted in the military, he captained the United States Navy team to a silver medal in the 1996 RIMPAC Hawaii Tournament against Chile and participated against various select regional teams across the country, including a 1996 Armed Services Cup.

Artiaga graduated from USC in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and an emphasis in Sports Journalism. He completed his Master’s degree in Kinesiology/Sports Management from Long Beach State in 2005 and is currently working on his doctoral degree in Sports Psychology from the University of San Diego for Integrative Studies.

Professionally, he has worked for the Los Angeles Galaxy and in the USC Sports Information Office under Mike Garrett and Tim Tessalone, while also working as a personal fitness trainer for the USC athletic department for three years training many athletes from various sports. Artiaga also serves on the coaching staff with the Los Alamitos High boy’s soccer team with Falcon assistants Donovan Martinez (Los Alamitos High boy’s head coach) and Raul Avellaneda (JV head coach). During his time there, the Los Alamitos boys have captured consecutive conference championships by going undefeated, advanced to the Division 1 final four and finished last year ranked seventh in the nation. He also coaches a U-13 boys BlackStars team with LBSC.

BENNY ARTIAGA’S YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD

                                                                                    POST
YEAR     HEAD COACH        OVERALL            CONFERENCE       SEASON
2005     Benny Artiaga      12-8-5             3^rd Place            Lost 2^nd Round
2006     Benny Artiaga      20-3-5             2^nd Place           State Champions
                                                                                   Ranked #2 Nationally
2007     Benny Artiaga      18-4-4             2^nd Place           Lost 3^rd Round
                                                                                                               Ranked #6 Nationally
2008     Benny Artiaga      22-4-1             1^st Place            State Champions
                                                                                                                Ranked #2 Nationally
2009     Benny Artiaga      19-3-2             2^nd Place            Lost 3^rd Round
                                                                                    Ranked #2 Nationally