Taking part in their second tournament of the season, the Cerritos College men's water polo continues to play one of the toughest schedules in Southern California. The Falcons opened with a 13-6 loss to host Golden West College and followed that with a 15-9 setback at the hands of Orange Coast College. Cerritos came back on Saturday, took on Southwestern College, and came away with a 17-9 win, while they capped off their weekend with a 14-11 win over Saddleback College. The win over the Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing skid which dates back to 2021. The team will open South Coast Conference play on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. when they travel to Rio Hondo College.

Cerritos vs. Golden West: After falling behind, 4-1 after the first period, the Falcons fought back to get to within 8-6 after three periods. But the Rustlers shut out Cerritos in the fourth period, 5-0 to come away with the win. Freshman Guillermo De La Mora (La Serna HS) led the team with three goals, with sophomore Jacob Colon (Schurr HS) turning in a solid game with five steals and drew three exclusions. Sophomore goalkeeper Diego Campos (Downey HS) turned away nine shots in goal.

Cerritos vs. Orange Coast: Locked in another close game through the first three periods, the Falcons were kept off the scoreboard once again in the fourth period against the Pirates. A 7-7 game at halftime turned into a 10-9 Orange Coast lead after De La Mora scored with 28 seconds left to get the team to within 10-9 heading into the final eight minutes. Orange Coast was able to clamp down on their defense and outscored Cerritos, 5-0 to come away with the win. Sophomore Tim Robles (Schurr HS) scored three times, while De La Mora and Colon each added a pair of goals. Colon was also a key contributor on defense, as he drew six exclusions and posted four steals. Campos had another strong game in goal and turned away 11 shots.

 

Cerritos vs. Southwestern: It was a close 7-5 Falcons lead at intermission before they outscored the Jaguars, 10-4 in the second half. Sophomore Declan Nelson (Corona HS), sophomore Roman Ramos (Schurr HS), De La Mora and sophomore Johan Gaytan (Downey HS) scored consecutive goals to start the fourth period, which increased the Cerritos lead to 15-8. Robles and freshman Ruben Martinez (Western HS) each scored three times in the win, with Nelson, Ramos and Gaytan all scoring a pair of goals. The trio of goalkeepers combined to make 14 saves in the game.

Cerritos vs. Saddleback: It was a back-and-forth match against the Bobcats, with the Falcons breaking open a 10-10 game late in the third period. Colon scored with 30 seconds left in the third period, while Robles, Martinez and Nelson each scored to close out the scoring, as Cerritos held Saddleback without a goal for the final 6:33 of the game. Robles scored five times on as many shots, while Campos turned away a season-high 13 shots in a solo effort. A trio of players helped out in the win by scoring twice each.