M. Soccer: Seven Falcons earn all-conference awards

Jose Lopez was voted the SCC South Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year
Jose Lopez was voted the SCC South Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year

Sophomore Jose Lopez led a group of seven Cerritos College men's soccer players who earned All-South Coast Conference South Division honors. The conference leader in goals (14) and points (35), Lopez was voted as the Co-Offensive Player of the Year along with Marvin Gamez of El Camino College. Also earning 1st Team recognition were sophomores Donovan Perez, Alberto Gomez and Adrian Ibarra, while the trio of freshmen Griffin Welch, Allan Gonzalez and Joshua Chavez were 2nd Team selections.

Along with his 14 goals in the regular season, Lopez also assisted on seven others, with five of his goal game-winners. He scored three times against Glendale College, while adding a pair of goals three other times. He scored both goals in the win over Mt. San Antonio College, as well as the lone goal in a win over Los Angeles City College and in a 1-1 tie with Long Beach City College. Lopez earned 2nd Team all-conference recognition his freshman year.

A two-time 1st Team pick, Perez led the team in the regular season in assists (8), while he is second on the team with 12 goals, with four of them coming on penalty kicks. He had a five-game stretch where he scored eight goals, with three of them coming against Los Angeles Pierce. He also assisted on three goals against Glendale College and had a goal and two assists against El Camino College in the conference's third place game. Gomez has helped anchor a defense that allows less than a goal a game, while he has contributed three assists on offense, including the primary assist on a goal in a 1-1 score in the first meeting with El Camino. Ibarra has been another defensive stalwart for the Falcons and on offense he has scored once.

Welch has seen action in almost 1600 minutes this season and has allowed just 16 goals, while making 75 assists in goal. He has four full-game shutouts on the season and shared a shutout in four others. He's made at least seven saves in four games, which includes a season-high eight stops against El Camino. One of the hardest working players on offense has been Gonzalez, who uses his speed to extend the opposing team's defense, which opens up the field for Lopez and Perez to score. He had a goal and assist against Glendale College to account for his scoring in the regular season. Another key component to the Falcons success on defense has been Chavez, who has started 18 of the team's 20 games and helps shut down the opposing team's best players.