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2007 STATE
CHAMPIONS: 'Team of Destiny' -
The
Cerritos women's soccer team came back in the
final two minutes of the game to capture the
state championship. |
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It was the
first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs
less than a month ago, at it looked as though the
Cerritos College women's soccer team was about to be
upset in the first round against Ventura College. But,
the Falcons, who were ranked #2 in SoCal, scored on a
penalty kick in the 90th minute and went on to record a
3-1 overtime victory. On Sunday, Cerritos capped off a
remarkable comeback in the state championship game at
Fresno Pacific University by defeating Santiago Canyon
College, 2-1 by scoring two goals in the last two
minutes of the game. In the 88th minute, freshman
Celia Ramirez
(Buena Park HS) scored her first goal of the season on a failed clearing attempt,
while freshman
Monique
Cisneros (Mayfair HS) scored the game-winner in the 90th minute after a defensive turnover.
The Hawks, who came into the game ranked #1 in the
nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of
America, was undefeated at 26-0-0 and had allowed just
five goals all season. By contrast, the Falcons
(23-2-3), ranked #3 in the country entering the state
tournament, were playing without sophomore All-American midfielder
Rebecca Juarez
(Jurupa Valley HS), who suffered a foot injury in the
team's semi-final win over Fresno City College on
Friday.
"This was a team of destiny," said head coach
Ruben
Gonzalez, right before he received a water bath,
courtesy of his players. "Even with all of our injuries
and playing against an incredibly good and well-coached
team, the players never stopped believing in themselves
and played their hearts out. This was our goal from the
beginning of the season, and at one point, it looked
like it might slip away."
After a
closely contested first half, in which the two teams
combined for 10 shots, the Hawks maintained control of
the ball for the greater majority of the second half.
The two teams were very similar in playing style, with
Santiago Canyon having the luxury of a full and healthy
squad, as well as a size advantage. It came into play
with 22 minutes left in the second half. On a corner
kick, Kaitlin Thulin sent the ball to the far side of
the goal, where Sarah Califf headed it in past
freshman goalkeeper
Chantal
Cervero (Cerritos HS). The Falcons seemed to
lose a little of their intensity, but found it again as
the clocked started clicking down and their season-long
goal seemed less attainable.
With Juarez
only able to give the team a grand total of 23 minutes
for the entire game, freshman
Corina
Villegas (Perris HS), the team's record-setting
goal scorer, was moved from forward to midfield, her
natural position. Additionally, Gonzalez had to move
Cardenas to forward, after she had been playing the last
few weeks at defender, due to the mounting injuries. The
moved worked just as he had hoped.
"I knew we
had to get our numbers up and try to get the ball
cleared out as much as possible to try and create
scoring opportunities," added Gonzalez. "Because of the
way they played and our injury situation, we knew we had
to play a more direct game with them and move the ball
up the middle of the field, instead of taking it to the
outside, like we normally try to do."
On the strength of her goal in the semi-final win over
Fresno City College, as well as moving to midfield with
the loss of Juarez, Villegas was selected as the Most
Valuable Player.
With time running out, the Falcons were awarded a free
kick from about 30 yards out. Freshman
Beatriz
Cornejo (Bellflower HS) sent the ball toward the
goal, where Hawks goalkeeper Katie Graul and her
defenders deflected the ball away. Looking to clear the
ball out of the zone, the ball landed in front of
Ramirez, who was about 15 yards out directly in
front of the net. After chesting the ball to control it,
she drilled a shot high into the net to tie the game,
with the Cerritos bench erupting in both jubilation and
relief. Before they could even finish talking about the
impending overtime, the Falcons struck again. After the
Hawks put some pressure on Cervero, who played a very
strong game and made five saves, the Falcon defense was
able to clear the ball away. After crossing over into
Santiago Canyon territory and attempting to get a shot
on goal, Cisneros found herself with the ball after her
passing attempted was blocked by a Hawks player right
back to her.
"It was near
the end of the game and everything becomes a shot," said
Cisneros. "When the ball came back to me, I just wanted to take a shot and see what
happened and it was placed in the right spot and it went
in."
When the
final whistle blew, the scene was reminiscent of last
year's Falcon men's soccer state championship, as all of
the players erupted on the field. It was the first time
all season that the players showed that kind of emotion.
In fact, an assist on the championship might be credited
to this year's men's team, who met with the women's team
before they came up to Fresno.
"Some of our
guys talked with the team before they left to let them
know a little bit about what it might be like," said
men's head coach
Benny Artiaga. "They let them know about the
weather and how to act while they were up there. It kind
of gave them a perspective of what to expect before
playing. I'm very proud of Ruben, his coaches and the
players for winning the state title. It's a feeling I
know they will always remember." |
