On Friday, the Cerritos College women's soccer team defeated Mt. San Antonio College, 3-0 in a South Coast Conference crossover game to extend their winning streak to five in a row. The Falcons (9-1-1), ranked #4 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches among Division III (non-scholarship) schools, scored in the first minute of the game and then added a pair of second half insurance goals. The team will now travel to East Los Angeles College on Tuesday in a 4:00 p.m. crossover game.

In that first minute of the game, Cerritos attacked the Mounties (5-6-1) defense and sent a barrage of close range shots at goalkeeper Cassidy Mount. She was able to turn away the first two from close range, but her final rebound off a Mayela Medina (Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy HS) shot landed in front of freshman Claudia Soto (Chino Hills HS) and she was able to get enough on her shot to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.

Although they controlled possession of the ball for the majority of the first half, Cerritos wasn't able to add to their lead and needed freshman goalkeeper Deisy Rodriguez (Katella HS) to come up with a pair of saves. The Falcons had success moving the ball into Mt. SAC territory, but had their attacks halted by a combination of good defense and ill-advised passes. Mount turned away four Cerritos shots in the first half.

With a little different plan in the second half, the Falcons scored six minutes into the second half when sophomore Itzel Ballesteros (Maywood Academy HS) had her pass attempt deflected by a Mt. SAC defender. Luckily, the ball landed near freshman Mia Ramirez (Torrance HS), who gathered it and scored into an open net, as Mount came out to try and play the ball. The Falcons added another goal in the 78th minute, as Ramirez got off the first shot, with freshman Elizabeth Mendez (Long Beach Millikan HS) in the right spot to grab the loose ball in front of the net and tip it in for her fourth goal of the season.

The defense held the Mounties to just four shots on goal, as the team recorded their fourth shutout in a row and eighth of the season.

Photos by Daryl Peterson