El Camino women’s soccer defeats Cerritos in South Coast Conference opener
El Camino College Warriors forward Bella Baligad (L) celebrates her goal with midfielder Angelica Taylor on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at ECC Soccer Field. The Warriors defeated the Cerritos College Falcons 3-1 in the South Coast Conference opener. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)
The El Camino Warriors won its first South Coast Conference women’s soccer game of the season after defeating the Cerritos College Falcons 3-1 on Tuesday, at the El Camino College Soccer Field.
Within five minutes from kickoff, a goal by Falcons midfielder/forward Katie Alexander made its way past Warriors goalkeeper Karlee Clark. Thirty minutes later, the Warriors responded with a goal from forward Bella Baligad, assisted by midfielder Angelica Taylor.

“We started off a little slow and we kind of took a second to get started, but once we got into the feeling of the game, I feel like we settled down and we really managed to start coming together as a team and push through and get the win,” Taylor said.
The first half would end with the game tied at 1-1.
“Overall, I think we had a little bit of a rocky start with [the Falcons] getting an early goal on us, but I think we’re coming back, coming back stronger with our passes and long goals. Hopefully we can keep that up. I think we’re getting back into it, passing around them more,” Warriors midfielder Julia Ausland said.

The second half started with a series of fouls. 20 minutes in, a goal by Warriors defender Gabriella De La Cruz, assisted by defender Alexis Perez-Fonseca, put the Warriors in the lead.

Ten minutes later, a goal from Taylor, assisted by De La Cruz, secured the lead and a win for the Warriors.

“It was a good battle for both teams. I think Cerritos definitely gave us a good match. We did underestimate them a little bit at the beginning, but I think that we stepped up and both teams were aggressive and the results showed [that],” Perez-Fonseca said.
The Warriors are now 7-2-1 overall and they will play against LA City Cubs Friday at the Los Angeles City College Soccer Field on Friday, Oct. 7 at 4:30 p.m.
Editor’s notes:
- Caption for featured image was corrected on Oct. 5, 2022, at 2:35 p.m.
- Tags were added on Oct. 5, 2022, at 5:05 p.m.
- Grammar corrections were made on Oct. 6, 2022, at 4:00 a.m.