Cerritos goes OT to win fifth men's soccer title

Tournament Central l Match Report

MISSION VIEJO - The Cerritos men's soccer team captured the 2025 3C2A Men's Soccer State Championship with a 2-1 victory in overtime over Hartnell College on Sunday afternoon at Saddleback College.  It was the fifth championship in program history for the Falcons.

Cerritos and Hartnell played even most of the day, with neither team able to gain any advantage in momentum.  The majority of the play took place in the middle of the field in the opening half, with scoring opportunities at a minimum. 

Hartnell led in total shots at halftime 4-3 and had a 3-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, but neither team could score a goal in what turned out to be a scoreless 45 minutes.

The second half had a different pace as both teams made moves to break through in what was starting to feel like a game where one goal could be the difference.  

Finally, Cerritos broke the ice in the 71^st minute when Christopher Ramirez fed William Rodriguez for his fourth goal of the season.  It gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead and, at the time seemed as if it were the difference-maker in the game.

Hartnell, however, had other plans and earned a penalty kick when Angel Lomeli-Zuniga was pulled down in the box in the 83^rd minute.  The Panthers cashed in on the opportunity when Edwin Moreno blasted the ball into the right side of the net on the penalty kick to even the score with time winding down on the clock.  It capped off a half where Hartnell outshot Cerritos 10-4 and had a 7-4 advantage in shots-on-goal. 

The game went to overtime and had a much faster pace as neither team looked interested in going to penalty kicks.  Hartnell had a chance in front of the Cerritos net on a mad scramble in the 95^th minute, but Allan Gonzalez got a foot on the ball for the Falcons and drove it over the net and out of play.  On the ensuing trip down the field, Cerritos put a ball towards the left post on to the foot of William Rodriguez, but Hartnell had a pair of defenders sliding across to force him to shoot wide and keep the game even at 1-1. 

Cerritos finally broke through in the 103^rd minute when Alejandro Oropeza sent a ball forward along the sidelines to Gustavo Arias in open space.  Arias put a move on a defender and broke free towards the goal with only the keeper to beat.  Arias showed patience, getting the keeper to commit first before making a move left to create some open space. He then slid the ball into the open net to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage. 

Hartnell spent the last 17 minutes pressuring the Cerritos goal but could never get a ball past Cerritos goalkeeper Eduardo Enriquez.   The Panthers finished with a 16-10 advantage in total shots for the game and an 8-5 lead in shots-on-goal but were unable to get the equalizer in the second overtime.

Cerritos finishes the season at 17-6-3 overall with the win.  It was the fifth state championship in program history, and the first since 2018.  Hartnell finishes the season 18-4-4.

Following the game, Cerritos sophomore Gustavo Arias was named the tournament MVP after scoring three goals in the tournament, including the game-winner in the finals.

(Brad Hoiseth, CCCSIA)