Mens Soccer Heads to the CCCAA State Championship Tournament

Tournament Information Flyer

TORRANCE, Calif. - The El Camino College Warriors men's soccer team is heading to the 2021 CCCAA Men's Soccer State Championship tournament this weekend at the campus of Mt. Sac in Walnut, Calif.  

The Warriors are making their first appearance in the CCCAA State Tournament since 1992 when they won it all to become State Champions.  

The Warriors will face off against Hartnell College on Friday night in a semifinal match at 7:00 PM on the West Soccer Field.  Mt. Sac will play against American River College on the East field.

How The Warriors Got There

The Warriors were given the No.3 seed in the CCCAA Southern California Regional bracket.  The Warriors are led by Freshman Forward Mario Carlos who leads the team with 37 points on 16 goals and five assists.  Sophomore Luis Garibay leads the defense with a 17-4-1 record with 9 shutout.  Garibay has a 1.12 goals allowed average and has made 80 saves on the season.

They faced off against the No.14 Cuyamaca College in the opening round.  After Cuyamaca opened the scoring to start the game, Malcolm Holtzman-Cisse scored the equalizing goal off a Coyote defender mistake.  Carson Nguyen would score the game-winning goal in the second period of OT to give the Warriors the 2-1 win at home.

In the second round matchup, the Warriors squared off against the No.11 seeded Bakersfield College.  The Warriors dominated the game for almost the entire game.  The Warriors benefitted from an early Bakersfield own goal off a corner kick that set the tone for the rest of the game.  Mario Carlos scored the second goal after a beautiful counterattack buildup play that started with keeper Luis Garibay.  And finally, Justin Ortega scored the third goal of the game off a blast from 30 yards out that the goalkeeper whiffed on.

In the third round of the playoffs, the Warriors headed to their rivals and conference foe, the No. 2 seeded Cerritos Falcons.  The Warriors got a goal in the first half after a penalty kick that Justin Ortega buried.  They made it a 2-0 game after Mario Carlos scored on an assist from Ricardo Martin.  Luis Garibay had a strong game in the cage as he made 8 saves including a penalty kick save.  

Scouting the Opponent : Lets Meet the Panthers

Hartnell College was given the No. 1 seed in the northern side of the CCCAA regional.  Hartnell is 19-1-3 on the season with their only loss coming against De Anza on September 28th.  The Panthers are led by Anthony Rangel and Isaac Lomeli Zuniga.  Rangel leads the team with 33 points on 14 goals and five assists.  Lomeli Zuniga is second on the team with 28 points on 7 goals and 14 assists.  Santiago Cervantes leads the defense with a 16-1-3 record and three shutouts.  Cervantes has a 0.87 goals allowed average and has made 29 saves for the season.

Hartnell played the No.16 Napa Valley in the opening round of the playoffs.  They defeated Napa Valley 3-2 on a last minute goal by Anthony Rangel.  In the second round, they defeated the No.8 seeded Fresno City Rams 5-3 in penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 draw in two overtimes.  In the third round of the playoffs, they defeated the No.4 seeded De Anza College 2-1.

The Other Semi-Final

The No.1 seed in the South, Mt. Sac will play The No.10 seeded American River College. 

American River defeated the No.7 Feather River 2-1 in the opening round of the playoffs. After the #15 seeded College of the Sequoias knocked out #2 Foothill, the Beavers were able to defeat the College of the Sequoias 3-0.  In the third round, American River defeated Cosumnes River 2-1.

The top seeded Mt. Sac Mounties defeated No.16 Cypress 3-1 in the opening round.  They defeated No. 8 Santa Ana 5-2 in double overtime.  After a late equalizer in regulation, the Mounties went on to score three more times in the two overtime periods. In their third round matchup with No. 4 Golden West, the Mounties defeated them 2-0.

Two of the Warriors four losses this season have come at the hands of the Mounties.  They fell 3-0 at Mt. Sac on October 12th and 3-0 at home on November 12th in the third place game of the South Coast Conference tournament.

Tickets, Parking, and other Information

Like all previous CCCAA Playoff games, admission prices are $12 for adults and $8 for children, seniors, and students with ID.  Children 5 and under are free. Parking is $4 per day, per vehicle. Parking tickets can be purchased at parking kiosks in the parking lots.

Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets through online presale here: https://bit.ly/3rurMcx

Live Stats will be provided here: https://bit.ly/3EddaBB  

Live broadcast will be provided here: https://bit.ly/3G5w7qj