With every team looking to make a name for themselves when facing the Cerritos College women's soccer team, who is ranked #1 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), another team has fallen by the wayside. The Falcons posted a 3-0 South Coast Conference win at El Camino College on Tuesday to improve their record to 9-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in SCC play. Cerritos will now travel to Long Beach City College on Friday at 4:00 p.m. for another conference match.

 

    After holding off El Camino (7-2-1, 2-1-0) for the first few minutes of the game, which required a pair of strong saves by freshman goalkeeper Alexis Carrillo (Bishop Amat HS), the Falcons came to life and scored twice before halftime. In the 23rd minute, a takeaway after a failed clearing attempt by Warriors goalkeeper Bronwyn O'Neill was picked up by freshman midfielder Lauren Nanez (La Mirada HS), she led a pass to freshman defender Victoria Carter (La Mirada HS), who scored from the top of the 18-yard box.

 

    Right before halftime, sophomore midfielder Jennifer Vega (Norwalk HS) fed a beautiful pass through the El Camino defense to Nanez, who lofted a shot over O'Neill for her 10th goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.

 

    Carrillo, who recorded seven saves in the win, was key to the Falcons not falling behind, as she made several difficult saves in the early minutes of the game. She stopped Itchel Guzman's shot from the edge of the box and then after a Cerritos turnover in their own zone, stoned Rebecca Maier's shot, who hit Carrillo in the stomach before securing the ball. The shutout was the fifth of the season for Carrillo.

 

    The Falcons closed out the scoring in the second half in the 52nd minute when freshman Karina Sandoval (Universidad de Guadalajara) scored on a free kick that went just under the corner for her second goal of the season.