M. Water Polo: Falcons stay undefeated in conference after 15-13 win

File Photo: The Cerritos men's water polo team posted a 15-12 conference win over El Camino
File Photo: The Cerritos men's water polo team posted a 15-13 conference win over El Camino

In a battle of undefeated teams in the South Coast Conference, the Cerritos College men's water polo team posted a 15-13 win over host El Camino College on Wednesday. The win over the Warriors (15-6, 2-1) was the fourth in a row for the Falcons (10-6, 3-0), as well as the ninth in a row against El Camino. The Warriors have not defeated Cerritos since a 17-16 decision on September 6, 2017. The team will have little time to celebrate the victory, as they host Merced College in a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match on Thursday.

The teams were tied, 7-7 at intermission, 8-8 early in the third period and 9-9 midway through the stanza. However, the Falcons were able to get a pair of goals from sophomore Jacob Colon (Schurr HS) and another from Declan Nelson (Corona HS) to close out the period and give the team an 12-9 advantage. An early man advantage goal from freshman Christian Acosta (Schurr HS) increased the lead to 13-9, while the team was able to hold off a late charge by El Camino. Sophomore Tim Robles (Schurr HS) scored the team's last goal with 3:45 remaining in the game, with El Camino scoring twice the remainder of the game to draw to within 15-13.

Colon led the team with five goals and a pair of assists, with sophomore goalkeeper Diego Campos (Downey HS) also assisting on two goals to go along with his eight saves. The trio of Nelson, Robles and sophomore Johan Gaytan (Downey HS) all scored three times in the win, with four players assisting on a pair of goals. Robles also led the defense with four saves.