With their 90 minutes of offensive pressure, the Cerritos College women's soccer team scored five goals in their second straight playoff game, as they recorded a 5-0 win over visiting Santa Monica College on Wednesday afternoon. The #2-seeded Falcons (21-1) opened the post-season with a 5-1 win over Mt. San Antonio College and followed that with a 24-shot effort against the #7-seeded Corsairs (18-2-3), who hadn't experienced a defeat since their first game of the season. Cerritos, the two-time defending CCCAA State Champions, will now play host to #6-seeded Cypress College at 11:00 a.m.. The winner advances to the Final Four, which will take place the first weekend in December at Mt. San Antonio.

Last year, Cerritos defeated Cypress, 3-1 in the 2nd Round of the playoffs on their way to the state championship. It will be their first meeting since that game.

Taking advantage of their speed on the outside, coupled with their effective passing in the middle of the field, the Falcons were able to maintain pressure on the Santa Monica defense the entire game and continuously sent shots at goalkeeper Jessica Ibarra, who made eight saves. In the first half, Cerritos was stymied by a collapsing defense, as they saw four of their shot attempts blocked by field players before they could reach the goal.

There was no defending the quick-pass strike of freshman Esmeralda Verdugo (Ensenada BC, Mexico HS) and sophomore Jazmin Aguas (San Pasqual HS), as they sent short passes until locating sophomore Ashley Anaya-Webb (Yorba Linda HS/Cal State Long Beach) in front of the goal. After receiving the ball, Anaya-Webb made one quick move to create some space and drilled a shot into the net for her state-leading 41st goal of the season in the 13th minute.

Sophomore Nayeli Requejo (Bishop Amat HS) had a banner day for the Falcons. In the morning, she was named the state's Female Athlete of the Month for October (see corresponding story) and in the afternoon she scored three times in the team's win. Requejo, who had 20 goals in the month of October, made it a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute when she lofted a shot over the outstretched hands of Ibarra. Requejo accounted for both second half goals, making it a 4-0 game in the 56th minute when she dribbled past a pair of Corsairs defenders after controlling a pass from Verdugo. Her 36th goal of the year came in the 73rd minute after Anaya-Webb sent a hard pass that Requejo chipped and redirected off the inside post and in the net.

Sophomore Carolina Ornelas (Artesia HS) had the team's third goal of the day when she cleaned up on a corner kick that she initiated. After sending the ball toward the goal, freshman Kimberly Oliveras (East Career & Technical Academy, NV HS) held onto the ball until Ornelas worked her way back into the play. Oliveras saw her shot hit a Santa Monica player, with Ornelas there to chip home the loose ball.

The Falcon defense limited the Corsairs to just two shots (one on goal), as sophomore Adrianna Salazar (Downey HS) and freshman Savannah Pilovsky (Fullerton HS) combined for the shutout. It was the team's 18th shutout of the year, which is one shy of tying the school season record.

Photos by Daryl Peterson