Facing the #2-ranked team in the state, the Cerritos College women's soccer team dropped a 4-2 South Coast Conference decision to visiting Mt. San Antonio College on Tuesday. The Falcons (2-7-1, 0-3-0) tied with the Mounties, 1-1 in the first half, but went into halftime down, 3-1. Cerritos did get a late goal to make it a 4-2 game, but had a couple of chances turned away.

After allowing a goal in the 10th minute, Cerritos battled right back and scored in the 12th minute when freshman Casandra Gomez (Norwalk HS) sent a crossing pass to the front of the 18-yard box, where freshman Reghan Roscoe (Montwood, TX HS) collided with goalkeeper Leila Peregrina and two defenders. Roscoe was able to get enough on the ball and scored her third goal of the season.

The score could have been a lot different if not for the play of freshman Aida Pineda (Warren HS) and freshman goalkeeper Victoria Ruiz (Applied Technology Center HS) late in the first half. Although they were trailing, 3-1 in the final minutes of the first half, Pineda was able to knock Kaylee Gutierrez off the ball before she could score into an open net. On the play, Ruiz came out of her goal crease to play the ball, but when Gutierrez beat her to the ball and controlled the play, she was looking at an open net. But the hard-working Pineda fought the ball away from Gutierrez to save a goal. Then, in the final seconds of the half, Ruiz stopped Gutierrez on a breakaway.

The Mounties (11-1-0, 3-0-0) made it a 4-1 game just five minutes into the second half, but the Falcons were not done on offense themselves. In the 79th minute, Gomez went up and headed a ball from Roscoe past Peregrina and into the net for her second goal of the year.

Ruiz finished the day with 12 saves, which was the second most of the season for her.

The Falcons will travel to Pasadena City College for a 2:00 p.m. conference game on Friday.

Photos by Daryl Peterson