Photo by Juan Velez. Ruby Leon tipped the ball into the net to score the first goal against Mt. San Antonio. More Photos

    In the first half of their South Coast Conference game, the Cerritos College women's soccer team found the going tough against Mt. San Antonio College. Unable to get their offense on track, they decided to sit back and wait for their opportunities, instead of looking to force the action. It paid off, as the Falcons scored four second half goals for a convincing 4-0 win, which exacted revenge against the Mounties, who posted a 3-1 win in their first meeting. The victory by Cerritos improves their record to 14-1-1 overall and moves them into first place at 7-1-0 in the SCC, while Mt. SAC falls to 8-4-2 overall and 6-1-1. The team will now travel to Pasadena City College for a 4:00 p.m. game next Tuesday.

 

    Early in the second half, the Falcons struck when freshman Ruby Leon (Fontana HS) took the ball down the baseline and took a shot. The ball slightly tipped off Mountie Sarah Hanna and went into the net. The goal seemed to take a lot of pressure of Cerritos, who began to open up their passing and spread the field wider. The result was a series of offensive attacks that pinned the Mt. SAC defense back against the wall.

 

    It was quickly a 3-0 lead on goals in the 80th and 81st minutes. The second goal of the game came when freshman Viridiana Ortega (Fremont HS) got off the first shot that was saved by Dianna Zambrano. But the rebound landed right in front of freshman Morgan Thompson (Mayfair HS), who scored an easy goal. Once they regained possession, Cerritos sent another long ball at the Mountie net and used their team speed to catch the defense on their heels. Freshman Miranda Madrid (St. Joseph's HS) attacked from the sideline and turned the corner, where she sent a pass to sophomore Nancy Gandarilla (Long Beach Millikan HS), who was able to chip the ball into the net.

 

    Just as the game expires, Leon attempted a corner kick that Mountie Brianna Joseph knocked into the net for an own goal to close out the scoring. Freshman Laura Ropp (Lakewood HS) earned the shut out and made four saves, while the Cerritos offense put 16 shots on net.