With time running out in the second half of their Southern California Regional Playoff game, the Cerritos College women's soccer team had one final chance before the whistle blew to send the game into overtime. They set up a corner kick from freshman Jill Messersmith (Newport Harbor HS) that was deflected away by Cypress College goalkeeper Paulina Sernas. Fortunately for sophomore Jazmin Aguas (San Pascual HS), it went right to her and she knocked the ball into the net for a 2-1 victory for the Falcons on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Cerritos (22-1-0), the two-time defending CCCAA State Champions have now advanced to the Final Four at Mt. San Antonio College next weekend. The Falcons will play on Friday at 7:00 p.m. in one of two semifinal games, with the championship game slated for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.

"When we set up for the corner kick, it looked like Ashley (Anaya-Webb) had better position," said Aguas, who scored her seventh goal in just seven games this season. "I kind of pushed her out of the way on the corner kick and when I saw it deflect toward me, I just twisted by body and got off a good shot."

The Falcons opened the scoring in the 59th minute when Messersmith sent a shot toward the goal that Serna thought was going roll wide of the far post and out of bounds. But the ball held its position and went inside the corner post for a goal. However, just four minutes later, the Chargers were awarded a penalty kick when sophomore Makayla Mendoza (Palm Desert HS/Pikeville (KY) University) was called for tackling Jackie Gomez in the box. The Chargers Kendra Serrano stepped up and scored on sophomore Adrianna Salazar (Downey HS).

Cypress used a physical approach to taking on Cerritos and it worked in the first half of the game. The Falcons were limited to just three shots in the first 45 minutes, but started to wear down the Chargers in the second half with their speed. The duo of sophomores Anaya-Webb (Yorba Linda HS/Cal State Long Beach) and Nayeli Requejo (Bishop Amat HS), who entered the game with a combined 77 goals, were limited to just three shots on goal in the game.

"We knew they were a physical team and they played us that way last year in the playoffs," said Requejo. "They sat back on defense a lot and whenever I got the ball and turned the corner, all I saw were white jerseys. It affected our passing game. But we found a way to win and that's all that matters."

Added head coach Ruben Gonzalez, "We didn't match up very well at the beginning of the game and they played us very tight. Cypress played a very good game and were coached very well against us. There always seems to be a game like this in the playoffs that wakes you up. We'll get right back at it and prepare for the Final Four.

Photos by Daryl Peterson