by Sergio Berrueta
East Los Angeles College lost against No. 1-ranked Cerritos College 5-1 at Weingart Stadium yesterday. The Huskies dealt with the tough defense and offense of Cerritos and made a goal in the final minute of the contest.
ELAC’s next match will be an easier game as they play an El Camino College Compton Center team which has the worst record in the South Coast Conference this Friday at 3 p.m.
Husky goalkeeper Briana Aguila was busy with the Cerritos offense, which scored five goals off her.
“The first goal brought us down because it was early in the game,” Aguila said, “We wanted to keep it at a tie or a shutout, but that didn’t happen.”
Cerritos’s offense kept the Huskies’ defense on their toes with a formation that caught the team off guard.
“We struggled a little bit being on the same league with Cerritos,” Coach Tessa Trogila said, “We focused on being a bit quicker to compete, but that did not translate on the field.”
ELAC forward Gladis Reyes did not give up, despite the score, and went on to score ELAC’s only goal in the final minute of the match.
“It brought me up. We are playing one of the best teams in the conference,” Reyes said, “We hustled and hustled and even though we tried, we got it in the last minute. That’s all that matters.”
The Huskies struggled against Cerritos with communication problems within the team.
“We weren’t communicating enough to keep going and in the end, we have each other’s back,” Reyes said.
The Huskies have three games left in the season, but Coach Trogila says they must stay the course. “There is nothing left to change. They knew what they have to do to keep going.”