W. Soccer: Six players earn All-Conference honors

America Ontiveros (black headband) was one of three Falcons named 1st Team All-Conference
America Ontiveros (black headband) was one of three Falcons named 1st Team All-Conference

Although they saw their 13-year run as South Coast Conference champions come to an end in 2019, six members of the Cerritos College women's soccer team received all-conference honors. The Falcons, who concluded the season with a 15-5-3 record and advanced to the third round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs, had three players received 1st Team recognition, while three others were named to the 2nd Team.

Aubree Stevens sends off one of her patented corner kicks that led to six goals Sophomore defender America Ontiveros (Santa Ana HS) and sophomore midfielder Valeria Corrilo (Dominguez HS) were named to the 1st Team for the second season in a row, while freshman Aubree Stevens (Pacifica HS) was also voted to the 1st Team. Named to the 2nd Team were freshman defender/forward McKenzie Cooper (Temescal Canyon HS), along with sophomore forward Nia Thompson (Kennedy HS/Alabama A&M University) and freshman forward Samantha Martinez (San Pedro HS).

Ontiveros and Stevens (pictured, left) were two of the key members why the Falcons posted eight shutouts on the season and limited team to just 1.16 goals allowed per game. The last line of defense, Ontiveros was tasked with shutting down the opposing team's best player and was also instrumental on clearing balls out of danger. As for Stevens, she was a solid defender who also assisted on six goals, with most of them coming from well-placed corner kicks. She assisted on three goals in one game and posted all six of her helpers in the final eight games of the season. Corrilo, the team leader in assists (14), was also fourth on the team with eight goals. As a freshman, Corrilo set the school record for most assists in a season by a freshman (22). She came on strong in the latter part of the season, as she accounted for seven goals and eight assists in the team's final eight games.

As for Thompson, she led the Falcons with 15 goals and added two assists, as she started 14 of the 21 games in which she appeared. Over a five-game stretch in conference play, Thompson scored eight of her goals. She scored three times against Compton College after accounting for two goals in the previous game against El Camino College. Cooper, who started the season as a forward, but moved back to defense in the last few weeks of the year, posted four goals and assisted on another. She had goals in consecutive games and scored three goals in a four-game span. Using her powerful leg, Martinez scored all four of her goals from set pieces and also assisted in six others. Martinez scored twice against Los Angeles Harbor College on direct kicks and had a goal and two assists in a win over Compton College. She also scored consecutive game-winning goals.