On the day before Thanksgiving, the Cerritos College women’s soccer team is thankful that they beat a determined Cypress College team 2-0 on their home field on Nov. 21.

Cerritos College head coach Ruben Gonzalez felt fortunate with the win.

“Fortunately for us we scored two goals and we were able to hold them,” Gonzalez said.

He also added, “It was an ugly game, but that’s how it’s going to be in the playoffs sometimes.”

Cerritos College earned the opportunity to face Ventura College on Saturday, Nov. 24 for their third consecutive home playoff game after the 7th-seeded Pirates upset the No. 2 seed, College of the Canyons near Valencia, Calif.

Gonzalez stated before the game that it would be nice to play at home again on Saturday knowing that College of the Canyons had already lost.

Cerritos College forward Claudia Ibarra sent a corner kick bending like the Arch in St. Louis, Miss., finding the net over the outstretched hands of Cypress College goalie Michelle Mendez who managed to get some cloth from her gloves on it before finding the back of the net.

After the game, Mendez said of the Cerritos effort, “From our part, I feel it wasn’t our best game.

“I wish we had showed up today because the game may have been different.

“I felt they (Cerritos College) caught us off guard and scored on us early.”

Mendez also commented, “We shut down too early.”

Lesson learned for Mendez, a freshman elementary education major at Cypress College.

Cerritos College goalie Maria Santoyo earned the well-deserved shutout with two seemingly unbelievable saves.

Gonzalez said of his goalie’s effort, “She’s a great athlete and people see her as being short and they want to take shots up high.”

Gonzalez added, “She can get to those balls, she can very easily jump and touch the cross bar without a problem.”

Being issued a yellow card for playing on after a penalty, Cerritos College Jazmin Aquas said about the call, ”I was frustrated going for the ball.”

She felt that she has a low tolerance for stress and has a temper that the coaches are aware of.

“That means I get mad easy,” Aquas said.

She’s chimed in that she is taking a stress management class at Cerritos College.

Aquas said she was thankful for, “Having my teammates here and making them feel at home in L.A.”

Cypress College’s co-head coach Randi Martinez simply said of the Falcons effort, “Cerritos played very well; they deserved to win.”

Cerritos College’s next playoff game is slated for Saturday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. against Ventura College, with the winner advancing to the California State Soccer Tournament.

The Falcons last faced the Pirates of Ventura College on Sept. 16, emerging with a 2-1 victory on the Pirates’ home field.