Rich history of state champions fill field looking for 2019 CCCAA Men's Soccer title

Tournament Central
(Watch, live stats, recaps, photos, brackets)

CUPERTINO - With 15 titles between Mt. San Antonio College, Fresno City College, Cerritos College and Foothill College - including nine of the past 11 - whichever program comes away with the 2019 CCCAA Men's Soccer State Championship will be adding to a trophy case that is already home to the prestigious title. 

It'll take two wins at De Anza College to hoist the championship hardware, beginning with a pair of semifinal matchups on Friday and concluding with the title tilt on Sunday afternoon. Friday's festivities beginning with Mt. San Antonio (21-0-3), SoCal's top seed, squaring off with Foothill (16-1-5) at 10 a.m., followed by NorCal's top seed Fresno City (16-1-5) facing defending state champion Cerritos (18-2-4) at 1:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The tournament is being held concurrently with the CCCAA Women's Soccer State Championship at De Anza. All games will be streamed by SoCal College Sports. Links to the live video as well as live stats, recaps, and photos are available at the CCCAA's Tournament Central page here.

Mt. San Antonio joins Foothill with five state titles in their history, all of them coming, however, in the last decade. The Mounties started their run with four straight championships from 2009-12 and added their most recent in 2016. They enter this weekend with a six-game winning streak, including a 1-0 win last weekend over El Camino College which is the last team not to lose to Mt. SAC after a 1-1 tie on Nov. 5.

The Mounties are tied with Butte for the most goals in the state with 77 and have only allowed 18. Angel Santoyo is tied for sixth among all CCCAA players with 15 goals while teammate Gerardo Cazares is tied for ninth with 15. Both are also among the top 10 in points as well with Cazares (44) tied for sixth and Santoyo (39) tied for eighth. Alain Hernandez has been outstanding in goal this season, ranking tied for seventh with an .833 save percentage.

In Foothill, the Mounties will be looking at a program that has also enjoyed historical success at the state championships, putting together a decade of dominance itself between 1976-86 in which it raised the banner five times. They enter Friday's showdown with eight consecutive wins during which the Owls have four shutouts, haven't allowed more than one goal in any game and have outscored their opponents, 24-4. Foothill punched its ticket to the final four with a 2-1 win over top-seeded Santa Rosa last Saturday.

Neel Prassad leads the team with 15 goals, tying him for ninth in the state, while teammate Brandon Holguin is also among the state leaders with 10. Jason Yanez has a state-leading 22 assists. The Owls' 68 goals are fourth-best in the CCCAA as are their 63 assists. They also rank in the top 20 with seven shutouts. Goalkeeper Miguel Romano's 74 saves are 19th in the CCCAA 

Friday's other semifinal pits the last two CCCAA state champions with Fresno posting its first-ever title in 2017 and Cerritos capturing its fourth - including second in five seasons - last year at Ventura.

The Rams bring the stingiest defense of late into the weekend, having not allowed a single goal since a 1-1 tie against Cosumnes River on Oct. 22. Fresno has gone 7-0-2 since then, outscoring its opponents 14-0, including a 1-0 victory over San Joaquin Delta last weekend that sent the Rams to Cupertino.

Fresno's 19 shutouts have come behind the outstanding keeping of Rodrigo Selingardi (1 goal) and Evan Ghimenti (6), who are ranked first and fourth, respectively, among the state leaders. Sophomore Mason Gonzalez has led the way on the offensive end with a team-high 10 goals and 21 points 

Cerritos has won its past three games, finding its ticket to the state championship with a decisive 4-1 victory over Oxnard last weekend. The Falcons' only loss in their last seven outings was a close 2-1 defeat to Mt. SAC.

Cerritos has blanked 19 teams this fall - tied with Fresno for the most - with Luis Enciso among the state leaders in saves (64), goalies allowed (14) and save percentage (.821). Kevin Diaz has been a force for the Falcons' attack, tallying 18 goals and 13 assists. His 49 points are ranked third in the state while his assists are fourth.

Cerritos has kept constant pressure on opposing defenses as evidenced by their 368 shots - including 163 on goal - which both pace the state. The Falcons have converted 60 into goals, ranking seventh.

Cerritos beat Golden West, 2-1, to win last year's state championship. Fresno City also earned a spot in the elite field, falling to Golden West, 2-0, in the semifinals.