Early on in their South Coast Conference crossover game, the Cerritos College women's soccer team found themselves in a position they're not too familiar with. Host Rio Hondo College snuck a shot past freshman goalkeeper Deisy Rodriguez (Katella HS) in the fifth minute of the game, forcing the Falcons (11-1-1) to have to play from behind. They responded with a goal before halftime and added two more in the second half for a 3-1 win.
In the 29th minute, sophomore Brittany Reyes (Santa Fe HS/Cal State Northridge) won the ball in the middle of the field and quickly turned to move the ball into Roadrunner territory. Racing on the outside was sophomore Itzel Ballesteros (Maywood Academy HS), who received the pass and beat one defender on the outside edge before sending a shot into the net on the near post.
Even without several starters in the lineup, the Falcons were able to clamp down on defense and give Rodriguez some help on the back row. Posting four saves on the day, Rodriguez welcomed the assistance of Jacky Beristain (Foothill HS/South Carolina State University), Erika Garcia (Downey HS), Brianna Yepez (Paramount HS), Jacky Cibrian (Legacy HS) and Jennifer Lopez (Marshall Fundamental HS) to keep Rio Hondo off the scoreboard after the early goal.
Cerritos got stronger as the game progressed and took control with a pair of second half goals. In the 56th minute, the Falcons took the lead when Ballesteron took on two defenders that led to a breakaway. With the goalkeeper coming out to play the ball, Ballesteros found freshman Mia Ramirez (Torrance HS), who finished off the play with her team-leading 15th goal of the season. The scoring was capped off late in the game when Ramirez moved the ball into the midfield area where she drew two defenders. That opened up freshman Stephanie Nava (Shadow Ridge, NV HS) at the top of the box, where she faced the goalkeeper alone. Nava lined a low shot under the arm of a sliding keeper to cap off the scoring.
The Falcons will host Chaffey College next Tuesday in a 4:00 p.m. crossover game.