Rio Hondo advances to State Championships for first time

Rio Hondo College is headed to the CCCAA Soccer State Championship for the first time in program history thanks to the Roadrunners' 1-0 win over Moorpark College on Saturday in Round 3 of the Southern California Regional Playoffs.

Rio Hondo joins Cerritos, Fresno City, and Modesto at the State Championship Final Four to be played December 4 & 6 at De Anza College in Cupertino. The Roadrunners, the South's No. 1 seed, faces North No. 2 seed Modesto at 1:30 p.m. on Friday in the state semifinals. With a win, Rio Hondo would advance to the championship final on Sunday at 10 a.m.

Under head coach Jennifer Tanaka, Rio Hondo has compiled a 16-1-4 overall record this season and captured a Foothill Conference championship with a 5-1-2 record.

Since their lone loss of the season on October 16 (3-1 vs. San Bernardino Valley), the Roadrunners are unbeaten in their last nine games, winning seven of those contests. Rio Hondo has outscored its opponents by a 46-9 margin this season and has posted 10 shutouts.

In 2014, the Roadrunners went 14-2-5 and won a Foothill Conference title, but was knocked out of the postseason with a 1-0 loss to San Diego Miramar in Round 2 of the regional playoffs.