 |
|
12.01.07
- Celebratory mood: Cerritos College women's
soccer team reached the state championships
for the first time in school history with a
5-4 win over San Diego Mesa Saturday
afternoon. |
|
Photo
Gallery |
|
Looking to reach the state championships for the first
time in the school’s history, the Cerritos College
women’s soccer team had to outscore San Diego Mesa
College in order to do so. The Falcons, seeded #2 in the
playoffs, overcame a 3-1 first half deficit and went on
to win, 5-4 to advance to next weekend’s state
championships at Fresno Pacific University. Cerritos
(22-2-3) will play on Friday in the semi-finals against
Fresno City College (19-4-1), who defeated American
River College, 2-1 to advance to the state
championships. The time for their game on Friday has not
been determined yet, and a
win against the Rams will send them to the championship game on Sunday.
By the fourth
minute of the game, the Falcons had a 1-0 lead, thanks
to a nice pass from freshman
Celia Ramirez
(Buena Park HS) to freshman
Yasmin Torres
(El Rancho HS), who sent a low, hard shot past
Olympian goalkeeper Crissy Lawson. However, by the end
of the half, San Diego Mesa (20-2-3) had scored three
times, including once on a penalty kick and had a 3-1
lead. But, the Falcons scored in the final minute of the
half on a goal by freshman
Beatriz
Cornejo (Bellflower HS) to cut the
deficit to 3-2.
“That was a big
goal for us at the end of the first half,” said head
coach
Ruben Gonzalez. “It helped pick the team up a
little bit after giving up the late goal. The way we
came back shows how much heart and desire this team has.
They really wanted to get this win, because it moves us
another step closer to our goal of winning the state
championship.”
The momentum at
the end of the first half carried into the start of the
second half, as Cerritos tied the game at 3-3 just three
minutes in when freshman
Corina
Villegas (Perris HS) scored on a hard
shot from about 25 yards out. The Olympians, undeterred
by the goal, came back in the next minute to regain the
lead, as Jessica Hernandez scored on a header.
“I thought we
did a much better job in the second half and seemed to
control the game,” added Gonzalez. “After we allowed
them to score the fourth goal, I don’t know if they
threatened the rest of the way. We played very hard and
got some help from the bad field conditions. But neither
team stopped playing hard and it was a good game for us
to play heading into the state championships.”
The Falcons tied
the game at 4-4 in the 57th minute when
Lawson saw Juarez’s shot at the goal roll between her
legs for a goal. The play was set up as a free kick and
Juarez sent what appeared to be a low, hard shot at the
net that Lawson let get through. The game-winner came in
the 70th minute on a play where Villegas was
fighting in the box for the ball with an Olympian
defender. Both players went down, but Villegas rotated
her body and chipped the ball into the corner of the net
for the eventual game-winner. |
