In their first round Southern California Regional Playoff game, the Cerritos College women's soccer team got off to a slow start before coming away with a 4-0 win over visiting Los Angeles Pierce College on Saturday morning. The Falcons (21-0-0), seeded #1, didn't score until late in the first half against the #17-seeded Brahmas (13-6-2), but put three more in the net in the second half to seal the deal.

Next up will be either College of the Canyons or Antelope Valley at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Cerritos faced Canyons earlier in the season and posted a 7-0 win.

"We never really got into a rhythm today and that sometimes happens in a first round game," said head coach Ruben Gonzalez. "It was a new experience for a lot of our younger players, so getting that goal late in the first half helped them relax."

With a little over two minutes left in the first half, the Falcons put pressure on LA Pierce goalkeeper Emily Claros, who stopped sophomore Serena Camacho (Los Osos HS/UC Irvine) on a point blank shot. However, the rebound kept the play alive, where freshman Valeria Corrilo (Dominguez HS) gathered the loose ball and fed a pass to Camacho, who was alone in front of the net and she got Cerritos on the board.

The momentum of the goal carried over into the second half, as it became a 2-0 game less than five minutes after the start of play. Camacho lofted a long pass deep into Golden West territory, where sophomore Sydney Carr (El Modena HS/UC Irvine) was able to outrun the final defensive player for the ball. With Claros coming out of the net, Carr beat her to the ball and finished off the play for her first of two goals on the day.

"I told our players not to expect to score six or seven goals a game like we had been during the season," said Gonzalez. "We're going to get limited touches, so we need to make the most out of them when they happen."

Wearing down the Brahmas, the Falcons added on a pair of late goals. In the 74th minute, Corrilo picked up her second assist of the game when she found sophomore Elizabeth Mendez (Long Beach Millikan HS), who drilled a shot into the far corner of the net. Carr, who now has 46 goals on the year, raced past the LA Valley defense after getting a pass from sophomore Mayela Medina (Harbor Teacher Prep Academy HS) and chipped the ball into the net in the 89th minute. Carr is on pace to become the first 50-goal scorer in CCCAA history.

"I thought our centerbacks, Jennifer Lopez (Marshall Fundamental HS) and America Ontiveros (Santa Ana HS) both played really well," added Gonzalez. "We were able to shut down two good goal scorers and played our game well enough to win and advance."

Photos by Daryl Peterson