Cerritos College Soccer Team to Host 'Celebration of Life' for Two Players Killed in Aug. 13 Traffic Accident

The Cerritos College men’s soccer team will be honoring the lives of in Utah while driving to Kansas Wesleyan University, where the pair had received scholarships to play and continue their educations.

“It's always emotional at the start of any athletic season,” said John Van Gaston of the Falcons’ Athletics Department. “But on August 30, there will be a little more on the minds of the Cerritos College men's soccer team at 3:00 p.m.”

During the home season-opener next Tuesday against Los Angeles Mission College, the Falcons will be hosting a “Celebration of Life” in memory of Eddie Valencia and Carlos Ornelas, who played for Cerritos from 2009-10.

The celebration will begin with a special ceremony honoring the two players’ lives. A framed jersey will also be presented to the families of each player. In addition, Bryan Valencia and Kevin Ornales, both 12 -- the younger brothers of the victims -- will be wearing the jersey of their brothers and escorting the team in the Falcons’ traditional walk to the field. The two boys will also participate in the warm-ups and sit with the team during the game.

Fundraising Efforts in Place to Help Victims' Families

The Falcon soccer program, under the guidance of head coach Benny Artiaga, will also be selling t-shirts, food and beverages in hopes of generating funds for the two families.

In addition, balloons will also be for sale at $5 each. In an outpouring of support, the first batch of 1,000 royal blue balloons have already been pre-sold, so the coach plans to have additional balloons for sale at the home-opener.

"Due to the high demand of interest in purchasing the balloons, we've decided that we will be purchasing another 1000 balloons - these will be white - to sell at the game," added Artiaga.

Everyone that purchased a balloon can write a personal message on it to the two players, and after the game, everyone will meet on the field and release the balloons simultaneously into the sky.

"August 30 will be filled with a lot of emotions for a lot of people," said Artiaga. "We will be taking that day to honor the lives of two special young men who gave the Cerritos College soccer program everything they had. It's truly a tragedy what happened to them and we hope to help raise as much money as we can for the families of Carlos and Eddie. It's out intention to make it a day of joy - a celebration of life."

For those who are unable to attend the celebration but feel compelled to help in the fundraising effort, a fund has been established at all Wells Fargo banks where donations can be made to the families.

To make a contribution, just go into any Wells Fargo bank and let them know you would like to donate money to the "Eddie and Carlos: Celebration of Life" fund - acct. #1559138464. Contributions to the same name will also be accepted at the season-opener.

Sports Memorabilia from Red Sox and Liverpool Futbol Club to be Auctioned Off as Part of Fundraiser

News of the tragic accident quickly spread throughout the sports world, triggering a myriad of emails, phone calls and text messages offering help and assistance to Artiaga, the victims’ families and the Falcons’ soccer program.

In a show of support, the Boston Red Sox, as well as the Liverpool Futbol Club, will be sending jerseys that have been signed by their entire team for a silent auction to be held at the Falcons home-opener. The money collected on the memorabilia will be split between the two families.

These generous donations surfaced after Cal State Bakersfield assistant men's soccer coach Keith Costigan tweeted about the deaths of the two young soccer players.

"These were two young men in their primes that had their lives cut short," said Costigan, who is also a friend of Artiaga's. "I was very touched and moved by what happened and tweeted that it was such a tragic story. As a result, a member of the owner's family of the two organizations contacted me and said they would like to provide the sports memorabilia to be auctioned off, with the proceeds to go to the families. The gesture is tremendously generous and I hope that it helps the families."

More memorabilia may also be offered as part of a silent auction at the game.

“The demand to help the families of Eddie and Carlos has been overwhelming,” said Artiaga. “We like to present our program as family-oriented, and the amount of people who are interested in helping is amazing."

Donations Rolling In From Local Businesses

With costly medical bills that have racked up, due to the untimely deaths of the two young men, local businesses have also begun to step up to try and help with the families’ expenses.

DP's Pizza Pub in La Habra, as well as David Gomez of Century 21 All-Stars in Downey, have both agreed to donate $100 for each goal the Falcons score on Aug. 30. Family and friends of the victims will also be going to DP's Pizza Pub after the game, with the restaurant agreeing to donate a percentage of the sales to the families.

"I'd like to put a call out to any and all local businesses to ask them to match the generous donations of both DP's Pizza Pub and David Gomez of Century 21 All-Stars of Downey," said Artiaga. "What they are doing is extremely generous and I believe that we live in a community that is family-oriented, so I think that there are more businesses out there that would see this as a very worthy cause."

Details of the Fatal Aug. 13 Accident

The pair was joined by fellow teammate Briant Reyes in the drive to the Salinas, KS campus. A fourth former Falcons player, Juan Huerta, who played from 2006-07, decided to fly to the school instead of join the trio.

The three were about halfway through the nearly 1,500 mile road trip to Kansas when they crashed on a road about 28 miles west of Green River, Utah around 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13.

Troopers who investigated the crash said the Chevy Silverado they were riding in, was traveling eastbound on I-70 when the pickup went off the left side of the road, rolled into the median and came to rest on its roof.

Valencia and Ornelas were ejected from the truck and transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. Both died from the crash, while Reyes was released with cuts and bruises, according to the Van Gaston.