W. Water Polo: First tournament nets 2-2 split in four games

Women's water polo team played four games at the Cuesta Tournament
Women's water polo team played four games at the Cuesta Tournament
Playing in their first tournament of the season, the Cerritos College women's water polo team split their four games and almost saw a school record get tied in the first game. The Falcons (2-3) opened with a 25-7 win over Santa Monica College on Friday and followed by dropped a 14-10 decision to Fresno City College. They came back the next day and opened with a thrilling come-from-behind, 13-12 win over Diablo Valley College. The tournament capped off with the Falcons dropping a 15-3 game against Santa Barbara City College. The team will open South Coast Conference play on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. when they host Chaffey College.
 
Cerritos vs. Santa Monica: In one of the most impressive single-game performances in Falcon history, freshman Jewels Longoria-Morasky (La Serna HS) was on a mission to take control and did so by scoring 12 goals, while also recording eight drawn exclusions. The goal output was one away from tying the school record of 13, which was set by Carla Harvey against Pasadena City College on October 25, 2014. Longoria-Morasky was on pace after scoring three times in the first period and followed that with five more in the second period, as the Falcons opened up a commanding 15-3 lead. Cerritos, who also received eight goals from freshman Camila Oliveira (Cerritos HS), saw the duo score 20 of the team's goal on 24 combined shots. Freshman Savannah Gafford (St. Joseph HS) also posted three goals, with five assists, while she was joined by Longoria-Morasky and Oliveira with three steals apiece. Freshman Delainey Garcia (California HS) posted five helpers, with freshman goalkeeper Clairissa Nuno (Cerritos HS) turning away 11 shots.

Cerritos vs. Fresno City: In their second game of the day, the Falcons opened up a 4-2 lead early in first period, thanks in part a pair of goals from Oliveira and Longoria-Morasky, until the Rams tied the game with a pair of goals. Cerritos responded with a 6-on-5 goal by Longoria-Morasky, only to see Fresno tie the game once again. Before halftime, the duo each struck once more and went into intermission leading, 7-6. But the second half was a far cry from the first, as Fresno City scored seven fourth quarter goals to turn an 8-7 Cerritos lead into a 14-10 setback. Longoria-Morasky (five goals, three assist) and Oliveira (three goals, three assists) led the way, while Nuno came up big at times with saves and finished the match with 15.

Cerritos vs. Diablo Valley: The game against the Vikings didn't start off well, but it ended in dramatic fashion. The Falcons trailed for the majority of the game, with their largest deficit being 8-4 early in the third period. But then Cerritos started making their comeback with Oliveira scoring twice in a little over a minute to make it an 8-6 game wit 5:26 remaining in the third. After Diablo Valley scored two of the next three goals, Gafford and Longoria-Morasky each found the back of the net, with Longoria-Morasky adding another goal in the final 13 seconds to draw to within 11-10 heading into the final eight minutes. Oliveira tied the game early in the fourth period, while Gafford scored on a 6-on-5 with 2:07 to give the Falcons their first lead of the game. With the game tied once again, another advantage, thanks to the ninth exclusion drawn by Longoria-Morasky set the table for Oliveira to score the eventual game-winning goal with 18 seconds left. Nuno turned away 11 shots, while Longoria-Morasky (five goals, four assists, nine exclusions drawn) and Oliveira (five goals, three assists, six steals) led the way. 
 
Cerritos vs. Santa Barbara City: Taking on one of the tougher teams in Southern California, the Falcons were limited to single goals in the first three periods, while the Vaqueros netted four goals in each of the first three periods. Longoria-Moraskey accounted for two of the team's goals and drew four more exclusions, while she currently leads the state in both categories. Gafford scored the other goal for the Falcons, with Nuno turning away five shots in the game.