Vikings Defeat Cerritos in 2OT to Advance to Round 2 of SoCal Regionals

The No. 6 Long Beach City College Vikings took down the No. 11 Cerritos College Falcons 2-1 in double overtime to advance to Round 1 of the SoCal Regional Playoffs.

All the action popped off in the second half when Cerritos scored their goal in the 79^th minute. Freshman forward Jose Mariscal tied the game with seven minutes to spare and sent the teams into overtime.

In the first overtime period, both teams remained scoreless. Then in the second overtime period, Vikings were fouled right outside the box, and defender Anthony Noria took the kick to send the ball in the top left corner of the Falcons net to win the game 2-1.

Goalkeeper Abraham Ramirez was phenomenal in the cage with seven saves against 18 total shots.

"I am proud of the guys," said Director of Soccer Operations/ Head Coach Jorge Reyes. "We had some players make some big plays at big times to keep us in it. Now we have another tough one on Tuesday but I feel like our guys are battle-tested and ready for any challenge. Again, I can't emphasize enough how proud I am of this team."

The Vikings will return to the field for Round 2 of the SoCal Regionals Playoffs on Wednesday, Nov. 22  at No. 3 Norco College at 2 p.m.