Prior to their CCCAA State Championship game at Mt. San Antonio College on Sunday, the Cerritos College women's soccer team watched the men's team win the title. Motivated by the men's success, the Falcon women's team went on to defeat Santiago Canyon College, 2-0 to capture their third straight state championship. It also marked the third straight season that Cerritos defeated the Hawks (21-1-3) in the finals, with all three games shutout victories. It is also the fifth state title for the Falcons (24-1-0) since 2008, while they have been named the National Champions the previous two seasons.

In the last regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranking, Cerritos was #3 in the country behind #2 Santiago Canyon and #1 Brookdale (NJ) Community College, who won the NJCAA National Tournament. The final national ranking will be released Tuesday afternoon.

It was a tightly contested game for the first half with both teams showing signs of offensive pressure. But defense ruled the first 45 minutes, as each squad turned away their opponents before they could get off a good shot on goal.

The Falcons team speed and aggressive offense came to their rescue, as sophomore Ashley Anaya-Webb (Yorba Linda HS/Cal State Long Beach) was fouled hard in the penalty box in the 50th minute by Santiago Canyon's Chelsea Baker.

Sophomore Nayeli Requejo (Bishop Amat HS) stepped up and netted her 13th penalty kick in as many tries, and her 37th goal on the year for a 1-0 Cerritos lead.

Another opportunity to strike came less than three minutes later when Anaya-Webb dribbled the ball down the sideline and masterfully eluded three Hawks defenders. Once she was clear of the defense, she centered a pass to sophomore Jazmin Aguas (San Pasqual HS), who fired a hard shot into the back of the net from 10 yards out. The second goal was enough insurance for Cerritos, who finished off their 19th shutout of the season.

Requejo (pictured, left), who was the tournament's Most Valuable Player, was double and triple teamed all throughout the playoffs, but still managed to score five goals, stated, "we knew we had to play tough against Santiago Canyon because we expected them to be real physical. Fresno City and Cypress both played us the same way, too. But I knew that even if I wasn't able to get off a good pass or shot, I needed to gather myself and go at them just as hard the next time. I felt that we had enough good players that eventually we'd score."

"Nayeli is the heart and soul of this team," said head coach Ruben Gonzalez, who has led the team to all five of their state championships. "We had such a great 1-2 punch with Nayeli and Ashley, but five or six other players were offensive weapons for us this season. This is the third championship I've won with Nayeli (the other being a CIF title in high school) and she is one of the most complete players I've ever been associated with."

Defensively, Cerritos received outstanding performances from sophomores Clara Gomez (El Modena HS), Makayla Mendoza (Palm Desert HS/Pikeville (KY) University), Alex Kidd (La Serna HS/Long Island Brooklyn (NY) University) and Kassie Olivas (Laguna Hills HS), along with freshmen Kimberly Oliveras (East Career & Technical Academy, NV HS) and Alexandria Trujillo (St. Joseph HS), who was inserted into the starting lineup the last six games of the season.

"Clara is a tremendous player," said Gonzalez. "We were struggling in the first half with the midfielders and as soon as I put her at center-mid, everything started to fall into place for us. She's a calming effect on everyone out there and just does everything right. I was really impressed with the composure of Alex Trujillo. We have so much talent on defense that it just took her some extra time to crack the starting lineup. But when she did, she was very strong for us."

"I feel like the center-mid is my most comfortable position, so when they told me to play there in the second half, I was really relaxed," said Gomez. "The key to that position is to go in with the proper mindset and remain composed. I like the challenge of the position and when it came time to get out there and play, I shut off everything else and did my part to maintain the Cerritos soccer legacy."

The Falcons are the only school to have their men's and women's team win the state title in the same year twice (2008). Both Orange Coast (1989) and De Anza (1994) are the other schools to have accomplished the feat.

Photos by Daryl Peterson