The Cerritos College Falcons women’s soccer team rallied to beat bitter rival Fullerton College Hornets 2-1 on Sept. 19 which ended with punches thrown and multiple players ejected.
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight, and we had to fight, and I think that’s what happened and we stood our ground at the end of the day,” Cerritos captain Jenna Santos said about the chaos in the 90th minute.
In the 90th minute mayhem broke out as Falcons midfielder Samara Gonzalez and Hornets defender Gicela De La Rosa started fighting.
Players and coaches tried to regain order forcing the referee to end the game.
The game saw eight yellow cards and three red cards issued. Santos and Gonzalez were both ejected and could face suspension from the South Coast Conference.
This tension between the Falcons and the Hornets dates back to the 2024 season.
When asked on the fight at the end of the game Falcons forward Aiden Ochoa said, “I mean from the beginning of the game they weren’t being too aggressive and I think the second half is where they really kind of got aggressive. I feel like the ref could have better controlled the game.”
Falcons forward Ariana Rivera added, “I think it was the referee. He didn’t control any of the game. He should have stopped it from when Jessica and the girl got into it, At the end of the day, it was the referee’s fault. We can’t do much about it.”
The Hornets struck first early in the first half as defender Daisy Bautista beat Falcons goalkeeper Paulina Prescott to make it 1-0.
The Falcons responded late in the first half as Sariah Sanchez found Jessica Arroyo in the box and she beat Hornets goalkeeper Kyra Mangini on the right side to tie the game 1-1.
When asked on her game tying goal Arroyo said, “It felt amazing, haven’t gotten a goal since the first game, so I felt good to get another goal in for my stats.”
The Falcons grabbed the lead when Santos passed a long ball into the box. Rivera scored on the rebound for the game-winning goal.
Rivera said ,”It feels great. I was struggling a little to get the goals in but after I scored that, I feel like I’m gonna get more goals to produce.”
This tension between the Falcons and the Hornets dates back to the 2024 season.
Despite the mayhem, Falcons head coach Yvette Vascones was relieved to see her team secure its first win since its home opener.
“We spent more chances, but it was good to have the win finally,” Vascones said.
The Falcons began its longest road trip of the season Sept. 23 and followed up with a 4-0 loss against Santiago Canyon College.
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