Taking on their second straight nationally ranked opponent, the Cerritos College women's soccer team dominated Rio Hondo, 4-0 in a South Coast Conference crossover game on Friday. The Falcons (15-1-0), ranked #2 in the country, defeated the previously unbeaten Chaffey College, 1-0 on Tuesday and followed that with their superior performance against the unbeaten Roadrunners (10-1-4), who came into the game ranked #17 nationally. The team resumes divisional play next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. when they host ECC Compton Center.

In the win over Rio Hondo, Cerritos scored three of their four goals on headers off corner kicks, while their other goal was on a free kick.

The scoring got started in the 14th minute when sophomore Carolina Jaramillo (Cetis 54 HS, Tijuana) sent a corner kick to the far post, where sophomore Amber Whitmore (Los Alamitos HS) was able to head the ball home past goalkeeper Jenny Garcia.

It appeared as though the minimal lead would hold, as the Falcons didn't even allow Rio Hondo a shot at their net. They extended their advantage three times over the course of the final 10 minutes of the game, thanks to their superior set pieces. Coming into the game, Rio Hondo had only allowed 10 goals all season.

The lead was doubled in the 80th minute when sophomore Cheyenne De Los Reyes (Santa Monica HS/Santa Monica College) stood tall over the Roadrunner defenders to head home a corner kick from sophomore Dana Jacobs (Yorba Linda HS/San Francisco State) from the near post. A little over five minutes later, freshman Maria Hernandez (Sierra Vista HS) converted a free kick from just inside the penalty box for a 3-0 advantage.

Their scoring concluded in the 89th minute on a header by sophomore Ashli Villalobos (Mayfair HS/Cal State Los Angeles) on another beautiful corner kick from Jacobs. By the end of the game, the Falcons outshot Rio Hondo, 24-0, with 12 of those shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Ruby Nichols (Bishop Amat HS) recorded her sixth shutout of the season and fifth in the last six games.

Photos by Daryl Peterson