Back in 2007 when the Cerritos College women's soccer team won their first CCCAA State Championship, they trailed Santiago Canyon College, 1-0 late in the contest. A pair of goals in the final two minutes enabled the Falcons to post the win and begin their celebration. On Sunday, Cerritos faced the Hawks once again in the state championship game at Mt. San Antonio College and with time running out they were locked in a scoreless tie. But that was until sophomore Gaby Zamarripa (Artesia HS) scored a pair of goals within 15 minutes, as the Falcons went on to capture their third state title in the last six seasons with a 2-0 victory.

"Wow!", said Falcon head coach Ruben Gonzalez, who has coached the team to all three state titles, as well as an NSCAA National Championship in 2008. "This was a long season and we finished it by getting them (Santiago Canyon) again. They are a great team and showed it throughout the game. But we were able to score when they gave us an opening and our team held on for the win."

With the Hawks (23-1-1) swarming all over the Falcon net, they finished the game with 22 shots, with freshman goalkeeper Maria Santoyo (Universidad de Guadalajara HS) coming up with six saves. One of her more impressive stops was in the 18th minute when she went up high to pull down the ball and collided with a Santiago Canyon player. Santoyo, who only allowed two goals in the five playoff games, was slow to get up, but remained composed until her team was able to get on the scoreboard.

At the 70th minute of the game, freshman Jazmin Aguas (San Pasqual HS) continued an offensive attack and got off a hard shot that was stopped by Hawks goalkeeper Ashley Cooper. However, the ball squirted away, where Zamarripa was there to drill it into the back of a wide open net for a 1-0 Cerritos lead.

"The net looked like a big tunnel and it all just happened so fast," said Zamarripa, who is one of nine sophomores who saw their season come to an end with a first round playoff loss last year after being the top-seeded team. "I knew it was now or never, so I wanted to make sure I scored. The way our season ended in such a disappointment last year, it makes winning the championship even more special. All of our early morning practices and playing as many games on the road as we did really prepared us for this. We were ready."

With the Hawks taking more offensive risks after the Falcons scored, Zamarripa was available to score her second goal of the game. Tournament MVP Lauren Nanez (La Mirada HS) fed a long pass to Zamarripa, who lofted a shot over Cooper to seal the eventual victory.

"Gaby is a very talented player and had her share of ups and downs this season," added Gonzalez. "But she was the x-factor today and big players step up in big games. Gaby is a big-time player."

With sophomore Chelsea Villegas (Bishop Amat HS) still struggling with an injury that kept her out of the semi-final game, she was moved away  from her center defender position to allow her some protection. Stepping up to assist Villegas were sophomores Karina Sandoval (Universidad de Guadalajara HS) and Jennifer Mejicanos (Bellflower HS), along with freshmen Alyssa Cabral (Bishop Amat HS) and Kimberly Dominguez (Cabrillo HS).

"We knew that we had to focus on stopping their best player (Bianca Frontino) and I don't think she really made as much of an impact and I know she's capable of making," said Gonzalez. "They got a great game from (Amanda) Scheatzle and (Jennifer) Martin, but that was because we were able to counter their normal attack."

The Falcons were the fourth team to score twice against a team that had posted 17 shutouts on the year. As for Santoyo, the shutout was her 10th of the season and third of the post-season.

Photo by Daryl Peterson