Cerritos College men's soccer player Jeffrey
Payeras (Animo HS) will be a very busy
person in the coming months and years. After playing his freshman
season as a defender for the Falcons, Payers has signed a
professional contract to play with Municipal, a team in Guatemala
and one of the elite clubs in Central America. One of the more
popular teams in the country, Municipal, or Los Rojos, have won
more Liga Nacional titles (29) than any other team in the
country.
In addition to his signing with Municpal, Payers has also been
called in to play for the U20 US National Team and will play at The
Home Depot Center from April 22-28.
"We are very proud of Jeffrey," said Falcon head coach
Benny Artiaga. "To be honest, we recruited Jeffrey
thinking we would only have him for one year because he was so
highly recruited out of high school
by the likes of UCLA, Indiana and Cal State Fullerton, along with
other schools. He was a key part of Cerritos just falling shy of
winning a third state title after losing in double overtime to the
eventual state champions. Jeffrey has also been asked to apply for
dual citizenship in order to play for the Guatemalan National
Team."
Payers was a 1st Team All-South Coast Conference selection and the
runner-up to the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. He was
also named All-Far West and in 22 games, he recorded two goals and
two assists for the Falcons.
"It was an honor to play for Cerritos College and coach Benny
Artiaga", said Payeras. "I enjoyed my time tremendously and felt
like I really evolved as as player. The coaching staff and my
teammates were really well prepared and the best in the state, even
though we came up just a tad short. I grew as a player and
developed a lot of qualities while playing here, and because of
this, I was able to strive in the professional ranks. I am sad to
leave because I will miss my teammates. We truly believed we had
the best team in the state of California. I will forever be a
Falcon and can't wait to follow my teammates next season, as I'm
quite positive they will take the state title."
Photo by Daryl Peterson