W. Soccer: Penalty kicks win secures fifth place in conference tourney

Falcons won the fifth place game in the conference tournament
Falcons won the fifth place game in the conference tournament

Hosting Rio Hondo College in the fifth place game of the South Coast Conference Tournament on Tuesday, the Cerritos College women's soccer team outscored them, 4-3 in penalty kicks after they played to a scoreless 90 minutes. Next up for the the Falcons (7-9-5) is to see if they are one of the 24 teams selected to play in the Southern California Regional Playoffs, with the first round taking place on Wednesday, November 20.

Once the final whistle blew, the teams lined up for the five rounds penalty kicks. 

The Roadrunners (5-12-3) went first and were turned away in the opening round by sophomore goalkeeper Alexis Bakalar (Los Alamitos HS), who started the game and was re-inserted with two minutes left in regulation. Cerritos scored on their first shot, thanks to freshman Jenna Santos (St. Joseph HS). The Falcons were denied in the second round, but Bakalar came up with another save in the third round, which turned out to be the different in the game.

Cerritos received successful penalty kicks from freshmen Jessica Arroyo (Buena Park HS) and Maiya Garcia (Gahr HS), before sophomore Genesis Mendoza (Gahr HS) secured the victory with a successful kick in the fifth round, with the Falcons winning, 4-3.

In regulation, the Falcons had scoring chances from Arroyo and freshman Samara Gonzalez (Norwalk HS). Bakalar and freshman Trinidad Arizmendi (El Rancho HS) combined for the shutout.