Forward Nayeli Requejo drives the ball against a Santiago Canyon defender in the CCCAA State Champioship game. Requejo would win the Most Valuable Player award.
Cerritos College shutout Santiago Canyon with goals from Nayeli Requejo and Jazmin Aguas to win their third State Championship in a row on Dec. 7.
Falcons Head Coach Ruben Gonzalez was so thrilled for his whole team being able to win the state championship in consecutive years.
“Its an exciting feeling to be able to win it back-to-back and now to be able to win it three years in a row, its just awesome and I’m so happy for the team and for the coaches, it’s a great honor,” Gonzalez said.
He said that the difference maker in the game was the Falcons pressure on defense and the team’s effort in creating scoring chances.
Falcons Goalkeeper Adrianna Salazar made two saves in the team’s championship effort, finishing off the season with just 5 goals made against her.
It was a closely contested first half for both teams, as neither team could send the ball in the others net.
Aguas mentioned that the team struggled early on connecting passes but that the team figured that out early on in the game.
Requejo said that the team had a tough time dealing with nerves at the beginning of the game.
“The first half, we came out not our best half, I don’t know if it was nerves or we really calm our selves down and play like were used to playing,” she said.
The second half was all the Falcons, as the team attempted 7 shots in the half with 12 shots overall for the game.
However, the Falcons put the pressure on right from the start. Ashley Anaya-Webb forced contact that led to penalty kick in the 40th minute that was scored by Requejo.
The Falcons wasted no time as Jazmin Aguas scored in the 38th minute with an assist by Anaya-Webb.
Aguas said that what made the team win was that they had more technical players and better chemistry than the Cougars.
The Falcons limited the Hawks to just 4 shots second half as well as giving the team its first loss in the season.
Requejo ended up winning the MVP award for Cerritos; she has ended the season with 37 goals and 29 assists.
“I really just have to give it up to my whole team, I couldn’t get this without them,” she said. “I take it on behalf of everyone, on the behalf of my team, my coaches, my family, and my friend that has passed.”
Requejo felt that the team really showed up against tough competition that they faced in the playoffs.
Ashley Anaya-Webb that it’s an extraordinary feeling for her team to three-peat.
“Its crazy to think about a team that has so much talent every year, and they train so well that we could win three times in a row is crazy,” Anaya-Webb said.
“So much work and so much effort from June to now, it all pays off. All the fitness, all the running we did in the past three weeks, everything completely plays off in this moment.”
Gonzalez said that the goal for the future for the Falcons to repeat as championship the next year.
“Get ready for next season and hopefully try to do it again, that’s always the goal,” he said.
