In their South Coast Conference opener on Tuesday, the Cerritos College women's soccer team was able to strike quickly against host El Camino College. But the goal in the fifth minute would be the lone tally by the Falcons (2-5-1, 0-1-0), as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Warriors (7-2-1, 1-0-0). Cerritos will host Long Beach City College at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

Early in the game, the Falcons were able to counter after an offside call against El Camino. Sophomore Valerie Becerra (La Serna HS) sent a nice through pass to sophomore Katie Alexander (Mayfair HS/Vanguard University), who went in alone against Warrior goalkeeper Karlee Clark and blasted her first goal of the season.

Cerritos was able to withstand some offensive pressure from El Camino, but they were able to knot the score in the 35th minute, as Bella Baligad scored on a breakaway against freshman goalkeeper Victoria Ruiz (Applied Technology Center HS).

Looking to create another scoring chance, the Falcons missed out on a couple of shot attempts early in the second half. El Camino was able to score what would turn out to be the winning goal in the 63rd minute when Gabriella De La Cruz headed a loose ball into the net after her first attempt was blocked. The Warriors scored an insurance goal 10 minutes later on another breakaway.

Ruiz finished the game with four saves, with Alexander providing two of the team's three shots on goal.