After their first weekend of the 2016 season, the Cerritos College women's soccer team has gotten off to a 2-0-0 start. They completed the Nike Soccer Community College Showcase on Friday with a 4-1 win over Evergreen Valley College. The Falcons will now travel to San Diego Miramar College on Tuesday for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game.

In the win over the Hawks, it was another early goal that put the team in the lead and forced their opponent to play from behind. It was a tie game in the 28th minute when Evergreen Valley found the back of the net, but Cerritos took the lead in extra time of the first half. They jumped out in the second half for an insurance goal three minutes into the second half and then closed it out with another tally late in the game. Cerritos outshot the Hawks, 21-2 on the day.

The scoring started in the eighth minute off a set piece when sophomore Yaqualin Garcia (Paramount HS) spotted sophomore Amber Whitmore (Los Alamitos HS) at the far end of the net. Her placement was perfect, as Whitmore headed the ball into the net. The goal right before halftime also came off a corner kick, but from the other side of the field. Sophomore Jill Messersmith (Newport Beach HS) put the ball on the foot of freshman Maria Hernandez (Sierra Vista HS), who settled it and connected with Garcia outside the 18-yard box. Garcia placed the ball perfectly into the net for a momentum-changing goal.

Messersmith played a role in the team's third goal early in the second half when she crossed the ball from the left side to freshman Itzel Ballesteros (Maywood Academy HS), who headed the ball into the net. With the Falcons continuing to put pressure on the Hawks defense, Messersmith picked up her second straight assist when she found sophomore Natalie de Leon (St. Joseph HS) racing toward the net. Her pass was headed nicely into the net for her first goal of the season.