Cerritos College Men's Soccer

Artiaga was named the National Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Set to begin his 12th season at the help (15th overall), Artiaga has poised his teams to be state contenders every season. In his time as the Falcon head coach, Artiaga has compiled a 169-52-47 (.718) record, while they have finished either first or second in the South Coast Conference in nine of his 11 seasons. Also in nine the last 10 seasons, the Falcons have been one game away from the state tournament seven times. In 2015, the squad suffered through several injuries, and settled for a 7-10-4 record, which included going 3-0-1 in the last four games and did not allow a goal. In 2014, Artiagas team finished with a 14-3-8 record and came in second place in the highly competitive South Coast Conference for the sixth year in a row. In fact, it was a 3-1 win over conference rival Mt. San Antonio College that capped off the memorable season and state title. In 2013, the team was eliminated by a 2-1 score by conference rival Mt. San Antonio College in the third round of the playoffs, ended the season with a 15-5-4 record and were ranked #12 in the country by the NSCAA. In 2012, the squad was defeated by Mt. San Antonio in the third round of the playoffs and concluded the year with a 14-6-3 record. In 2011 and 2010, the team saw their season end with upset playoff losses at home, which remains a rare occurrence. When the new soccer field was opened in 2008, Artiagas teams posted a 27-0-6 record until their 2010 playoff loss to College of the Canyons, 2-1. They were defeated by Golden West in 2011, 1-0 in the post-season to see their season end. In 2011, the team also finished the season ranked #10 in the country by the NSCAA and had a 17-3-2 season record. One of the best traditions that the Falcon program has become known for is moving their players to the four-year level. After a record-setting 11 players signed after the 2010 season, Cerritos has added six players from the 2014 team that have moved to the next level. Since 2004, Artiaga has sent 72 players to the four-year level, while he has also led his teams to four state championship games (winning three), and have been nationally ranked each season. In 2008 and 2009, the Falcons finished the season ranked #2 in the country by the NSCAA Division III (non-scholarship), while they also finished #2 after the 2006 year. In two of those seasons, the team won the state championship (2006 & 2008). In 2009, his team was one game away from advancing to the state tournament, but were defeated in the third round by eventual champion Mt. San Antonio, which was the same team they finished behind in the South Coast Conference standings. At the conclusion of the 2009 season, Artiaga found out that sophomore Luis Gonzalez was named the National Player of the Year, a first for a Cerritos College mens soccer player. During the state championship year of 2008, Artiaga led the team to a 22-4-1 campaign, capped by a thrilling 1-0 win over rival Mt. San Antonio College. The win over the Mounties was the fourth of the season for the Falcons, who went on to claim the #2 ranking in the country by the NSCAA Division III. Back in 2006, Artiaga took his second team to the state title game, where they posted a 1-0 win over Taft College to win the schools first championship. In addition to his team titles, Artiaga was has also been named the Far West Coach of the Year three times, as well as the NSCAA Junior College National Coach of the Year in 2006 and again in 2014. He has also been named the South Coast Conference Coach of the year in 2006 and 2008. After winning their first state title in 2006, the program produced their first All-American, as Michael Paz was named NSCAA/adidas Community College Mens Division III 1st Team All-American. Since then, the program has had five other players earn All-American honors. During the 2006 state championship season, the team went 20-3-5 on the year and was ranked #1 in the state and #2 in the nation. Also, in the summer after the 2006 season, Artiaga was also hired as full-time Instructor/Coach at the college. Artiaga holds a national Class B license from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), National Fitness Level 1 diploma, also from USSF, and an advanced diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He has also been invited to serve on the USSF soccer training staff. After playing for the Falcons on their 2001 team, Artiaga remained with the team in a coaching capacity. Among his qualifications are participating many years of CSL and playing under two soccer programs (Cerritos and Long Beach City College), while during his time enlisted in the military, he captained the United States Navy team to a silver medal in the 1996 RIMPAC Hawaii Tournament against Chile and participated against various select regional teams across the country, including a 1996 Armed Services Cup. Artiaga graduated from USC in 2003 with a Bachelors degree in Public Relations and an emphasis in Sports Journalism. He completed his Masters degree in Kinesiology/Sports Management from Long Beach State in 2005 and is currently finishing his doctoral degree in Sports Psychology from the University of San Diego for Integrative Studies. Professionally, he has worked for the Los Angeles Galaxy and in the USC Sports Information Office under Mike Garrett and Tim Tessalone, while also working as a personal fitness trainer for the USC athletic department for three years training many athletes from various sports. Artiaga also served on the coaching staff with the Los Alamitos High boys soccer team with former Falcon assistant Donovan Martinez (Los Alamitos High boys head coach) and Raul Avellaneda (JV head coach). During his time there, the Los Alamitos boys captured consecutive conference championships by going undefeated, advanced to the Division I final four and finished ranked seventh in the nation. He currently coaches the U17 Beach FC team that plays Tier 1 and the U12 Beach FC team that plays Tier 2. BENNY ARTIAGA YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD 2005 12-8-5 3rd Place Lost 2nd Round 2006 20-3-5 2nd Place 2007 18-4-4 2nd Place Lost 3rd Round 2008 22-4-1 1st Place 2009 19-3-2 2nd Place Lost 3rd Round 2010 11-3-9 2nd Place Lost 2nd Round 2011 17-3-2 2nd Place Lost 1st Round 2012 14-6-3 2nd Place Lost 3rd Round 2013 15-5-4 2nd Place Lost 3rd Round 2014 14-3-8 2nd Place 2015 7-10-4 3rd Place Missed Playoffs