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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. |
