The Soccer State Semifinals Begin Today; Watch LIVE
The Soccer State Championships Will Be Broadcast LIVE Friday & Sunday; Links to each game can be found on the schedules/results pages
State Championship Brackets [Men][Women]
Men's Soccer Semifinals (Friday, December 4)
#1S Oxnard (17-4-3) vs. #2N Lake Tahoe (18-4-2) – 10:00 a.m.
#1N Evergreen Valley (17-3-3) vs. #2S Mt. San Antonio (16-5-3) – 1:30 p.m.
Women's Soccer Semifinals (Friday, December 4)
#1N Fresno City (19-1-4) vs. #2S Cerritos (21-0-3) – 10:00 a.m.
#1S Rio Hondo (16-1-4) vs. #2N Modesto (18-4-2) – 1:30 p.m.
The women's state championship tournament will showcase a rematch of one of last year's semifinals, as three-time defending state champion Cerritos College takes on Fresno City College in a 10:00 a.m. contest. In that semifinal last season, the Falcons posted a 2-1 overtime win, which included the game-tying goal in the 83rd minute and the game-winner in the 110th minute. This year the teams started the season by facing each other in Livermore on the campus of Las Positas College and saw that game end in a 2-2 tie.
Modesto, the NorCal #2-seed, will play Rio Hondo, the top seed out of the South at 1:30 p.m. in the other semifinal. The Pirates earned a spot in the state semifinal with a 2-1 upset of #1-seeded Santa Rosa Junior College in the third round. Both teams will be looking for their first CCCAA state soccer title. Modesto was the #2 seed in the north in 2014, but were knocked out by Cosumnes River in overtime of the third round. In 2014, Rio Hondo was seeded #13 and won their first round playoff game before getting eliminated by San Diego Miramar College in their next match.
The state tournament will have three teams that finished second in their respective conferences this year, with Cerritos being the only team to have won their conference championship, which marked the 10th season in a row the Falcons captured the South Coast Conference title.
North #1 Seed – Fresno City (2nd Place Central Valley Conference, 19-1-4; 1 State Championship; 1988) – The Rams are led by forward Yesseniah Delgadillo, who leads the team in goals (11) and assists (9) on the season, with two of her tallies coming in the post-season, while Melody Harris has accounted for 10 goals. Fresno City has had 18 different players score at least one goal, with Denisse Aguirre adding seven goals and three others with five goals. Amanda Raymond has been the primary goalkeeper and has led the team to 16 of their wins. She was in goal when the Rams faced the Falcons earlier in the season and surrendered both goals, while making nine saves. Raymond has allowed just six goals on the year and has allowed just one goal in her last 13 games (1200 minutes). She has also played a role in 15 shutouts on the season. The Rams are averaging 2.8 goals a game, while surrendering just 0.25 goals per game.
South #2 Seed – Cerritos (1st Place South Coast Conference 21-0-3; 5 State Championships; 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014) – CCCAA State Champions the last three years, and five of the last eight seasons, the Falcons enter the state semifinal with an 18-game post-season winning streak. They have balanced a strong scoring attack (99 goals), along with a stingy defense (17 goals allowed, 11 shutouts). Cerritos returned just one player from last season (defender Gabi Lamb), while two others were red-shirts. Freshman Carolina Jaramillo leads the team with 25 goals and has added 13 assists, with freshmen Natalie deLeon (17G, 20A) and Amber Whitmore (16G 6A) having played major roles in the team's return to the state tournament. Jaramillo is second in the state in points and third in goals, while deLeon's 20 assists lead the state, and is ninth in points. Freshman goalie Ruby Nichols has started every game this season and has an 0.66 goals against average and is the state leader in wins (21). There have been 17 different players score at least one goal for the Falcons, while seven of them have more than two goals.
North #2 Seed – Modesto (2nd Place Big 8 18-4-2) - The high scoring Pirates rank third in the state with 83 goals on the season. They pulled off the third round upset with a 2-1 win over #1-seeded Santa Rosa Junior College where they scored the first two goals of the game. The two are members of the Big 8 Conference, with the Pirates earning a tie in their final conference match against the Bear Cubs and rode that confidence in their post-season matchup. Modesto is led offensively by the duo of Jenna Viss and Yaritza Arista, who have 22 and 21 goals, respectively, while Arista has 18 assists on the year which is the third most in state. The two are also sixth and eighth in the state respectively, in goals scored. Joining the pair in helping the Pirates score goals in bunches are both Andrea Zaragoza (7G, 15A) and Madeline Adams (9G, 5A). In goal, the tandem of Ashley Amdeida and Logan LaRossa have handled the majority of the duties. Almeida (12-1-1) got the call in all three playoff games and surrendered four goals, while recording one shutout.
South #1 Seed – Rio Hondo (2nd Place Foothill 16-1-4) – The only setback the Roadrunners have absorbed this season was a 3-1 decision against conference rival San Bernardino Valley College. Rio Hondo has posted 14 shutouts on the season and allowed just nine goals. In all but one game, the Roadrunners have not allowed more than one goal to their opponents. They rely on Christina Holguin in goal and she has responded with a 0.53 goals against average and played a full game in 11 of the team's 14 clean sheets. On offense, Janeth Acuna leads the team with 13 goals and 12 assists, with Andrea Sanchez contributing 10 goals and seven assists.
Regional Championship Brackets
Men [Northern CA][Southern CA]
Women [Northern CA][Southern CA]
Round 3 Recaps, Stats, Results [Men][Women]
Round 2 Recaps, Stats, Results [Men][Women]
Round 1 Recaps, Stats, Results [Men][Women]
photo by Cliff Robinson