When the Cerritos College women's soccer team plays on Sunday, it's normally in the CCCAA State Championship game. Playing a rare non-post season Sunday game, the Falcons remained undefeated with a 3-0 non-conference win over visiting Southwestern College (5-4-1). Ranked #1 in the country, Cerritos (9-0-0) has now outscored their opponents, 53-1 on the year, while posting their sixth straight shutout. They will open South Coast Conference South Division play on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. when they travel to El Camino College.
Throughout the game, the Falcons were attacking the Jaguars defense and could have scored at least three more goals. But Southwestern goalkeeper Sharon Montoya was exceptional at times and made numerous point-blank saves and finished with nine stops on the day.
Even with the stellar goalkeeper play, there was no stopping the duo of sophomores Sydney Carr (El Modena HS/UC Irvine) and Serena Camacho (Los Osos HS/UC Irvine). With sophomore Mia Ramirez (Torrance HS) out of the game due to an injury in the 10th minute, the duo stepped up their game, with Carr posting a pair of goals and an assist, with Camacho accounting for a goal and an assist.
In the 18th minute, Camacho stole the ball from the Southwestern defense deep in their territory and fed Carr across the middle of the box for a chip shot goal. The majority of play was on the Jaguar side of the field and with the Falcons controlling the midfield, it led to many scoring chances. Prior to the end of the first half, freshman Valeria Corrilo (Dominguez HS) controlled a loose ball and sent a pass down the left side of the field. Carr collected the ball and turned toward the middle of the field, where she saw that Camacho had worked past the defense, and was there to tip in the ball for an open net goal in the 32nd minute.
It was a solid defensive effort for the Falcons, as they were able to hold off any Southwestern attack. Led by sophomore Brianna Yepez (Paramount HS), along with freshmen America Ontiveros (Santa Ana HS) and Jaylene Valentin (La Serna HS), only one shot was taken on goal. It was from about 30 yards out on a direct kick, with sophomore Deisy Rodriguez (Katella HS) there to make the save. That trio saw most of the action in the back row, but several others came on to keep the scoresheet clean.
The final goal of the game came in the 67th minute when freshman Claudia Paz (Huntington Park HS) stepped in front of a clearing pass and spotted Carr running toward the net. Her crossing pass was on point, which allowed Carr to chip the ball in the net for her 16th goal and 41st point of the season, which puts her in a tie for first place in the state in both categories.