File Photo: Mario Vanzillotta and the Falcons won three games at tournament
Posted: Oct 30, 2021
Competing in their final regular season tournament of the year, the Cerritos College men's water polo team picked up three wins in four games at the Dia De Los Muertos Tournament, which was held at Southwestern College. The Falcons (18-10) will now compete in the South Coast Conference Tournament at Mt. San Antonio next week. Seeded #2 for the tournament, Cerritos will take on the winner of the Mt. SAC vs. Chaffey College game at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday.
At the tournament over the weekend, the Falcons opened with wins over San Diego Mesa College (12-10) and Cypress College (14-8), which was followed by games against Saddleback College and Grossmont College. Cerritos dropped their second of three games against the Bobcats, 10-8 and capped off the tournament with a last-second 11-10 win over the Griffins, which was their second in three games this season.
Cerritos vs. San Diego Mesa: Locked in a tight battle with the Olympians (10-6), the team were tied four times in the first half, including 6-6 at intermission. The Falcons held a 5-2 lead at one point in the second quarter, but saw San Diego Mesa score three consecutive times. Trailing for the first time coming out of halftime, the Falcons then responded with a goal from sophomore Joey Hurtado (Cerritos HS) and three straight tallies from sophomore Mario Vanzillotta (Colegio Palas, Brazil HS) for a 10-7 advantage. SD Mesa followed that with a pair of goals to end the period, with sophomore Seamus MacDonald (Long Beach Millikan HS) opening the fourth quarter with a goal. It was an 11-10 game until Hurtado scored his fifth goal of the game with 1:38 left for the final goal of the game. Along with Hurtado's five goals, MacDonald recorded four goals. Freshman Dominic Hernandez (Schurr HS) led a strong defensive effort with six steals, while Hurtado and sophomore Ben Neppl (Long Beach Millikan HS/Long Beach City College) each added three steals. The goalie duo of freshmen Owen Fahringer (Long Beach Millikan HS) and Rene Borja (Schurr HS) each playing one half, and combined for 11 saves, with Borja recording the win. Cerritos vs. Cypress: Unlike their earlier game, the Falcons made sure to get a quick start against the Chargers, but not until after surrendering the first goal of the game. Cerritos closed out the first period with four straight goals, with Hernandez accounting for three of them, while MacDonald scored on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to help build a 6-2 lead. It was a 7-4 Falcon lead heading into the second half, with Neppl, MacDonald and Hurtado each recording third period goals to maintain a 10-5 advantage. Cerritos added four goals in the fourth quarter to secure the win, with the goals coming from four different players. Hernandez and MacDonald each concluded the game with four goals each, while Vanzillotta had a team-high five assists. It was a two-goalie game again, with the tandem of Fahringer and Borja combining for 11 saves, with Fahringer getting the victory. Cerritos vs. Saddleback: In their third meeting of the season, the Bobcats were able to post their second win in the series. Limited to just one goal through the first half, the Falcons found themselves trailing, 4-1 at intermission and 6-3 in the third quarter. Cerritos did open the second half with a pair of goals from Hernandez, but Saddleback answered back with four of the next five goals to end the quarter leading, 8-4. Down 10-4 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were able to keep their opponent off the scoreboard for the final 4:11 and recorded four straight goals to close to within a pair. MacDonald and Vanzillotta scored within a minute of each other, but it wasn't until there was less than a minute yet before Neppl could score twice as time expired. Along with his three goals, Hernandez posted four steals, with Vanzillotta chipping in with three steals to go with his two goals and two assists. In goal, Fahringer turned away eight shots, but suffered the loss. Cerritos vs. Grossmont: In their first two meetings, each team won games by four goals, but this was the tighest of them all. Down, 10-6 with 5:36 remaining in the game, the Falcons started their thrilling comeback with a goal from MacDonald, who followed with two more to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:45 remaining. Both teams missed out on scoring opportunities, and with time running out, Neppl scored the game-winning goal with :05 seconds left. Grossmont got off the game's last shot, but was turned away and the Falcons came out on top. MacDonald led the team with five goals in the game, while Hurtado added three goals and three steals. The Falcon defense came up big in the game, as they recorded five blocks, with Vanzillotta accounting for three of them. Borja was excellent in goal and finished with seven saves.
Cerritos vs. San Diego Mesa: Locked in a tight battle with the Olympians (10-6), the team were tied four times in the first half, including 6-6 at intermission. The Falcons held a 5-2 lead at one point in the second quarter, but saw San Diego Mesa score three consecutive times. Trailing for the first time coming out of halftime, the Falcons then responded with a goal from sophomore Joey Hurtado (Cerritos HS) and three straight tallies from sophomore Mario Vanzillotta (Colegio Palas, Brazil HS) for a 10-7 advantage. SD Mesa followed that with a pair of goals to end the period, with sophomore Seamus MacDonald (Long Beach Millikan HS) opening the fourth quarter with a goal. It was an 11-10 game until Hurtado scored his fifth goal of the game with 1:38 left for the final goal of the game. Along with Hurtado's five goals, MacDonald recorded four goals. Freshman Dominic Hernandez (Schurr HS) led a strong defensive effort with six steals, while Hurtado and sophomore Ben Neppl (Long Beach Millikan HS/Long Beach City College) each added three steals. The goalie duo of freshmen Owen Fahringer (Long Beach Millikan HS) and Rene Borja (Schurr HS) each playing one half, and combined for 11 saves, with Borja recording the win. Cerritos vs. Cypress: Unlike their earlier game, the Falcons made sure to get a quick start against the Chargers, but not until after surrendering the first goal of the game. Cerritos closed out the first period with four straight goals, with Hernandez accounting for three of them, while MacDonald scored on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to help build a 6-2 lead. It was a 7-4 Falcon lead heading into the second half, with Neppl, MacDonald and Hurtado each recording third period goals to maintain a 10-5 advantage. Cerritos added four goals in the fourth quarter to secure the win, with the goals coming from four different players. Hernandez and MacDonald each concluded the game with four goals each, while Vanzillotta had a team-high five assists. It was a two-goalie game again, with the tandem of Fahringer and Borja combining for 11 saves, with Fahringer getting the victory. Cerritos vs. Saddleback: In their third meeting of the season, the Bobcats were able to post their second win in the series. Limited to just one goal through the first half, the Falcons found themselves trailing, 4-1 at intermission and 6-3 in the third quarter. Cerritos did open the second half with a pair of goals from Hernandez, but Saddleback answered back with four of the next five goals to end the quarter leading, 8-4. Down 10-4 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were able to keep their opponent off the scoreboard for the final 4:11 and recorded four straight goals to close to within a pair. MacDonald and Vanzillotta scored within a minute of each other, but it wasn't until there was less than a minute yet before Neppl could score twice as time expired. Along with his three goals, Hernandez posted four steals, with Vanzillotta chipping in with three steals to go with his two goals and two assists. In goal, Fahringer turned away eight shots, but suffered the loss. Cerritos vs. Grossmont: In their first two meetings, each team won games by four goals, but this was the tighest of them all. Down, 10-6 with 5:36 remaining in the game, the Falcons started their thrilling comeback with a goal from MacDonald, who followed with two more to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:45 remaining. Both teams missed out on scoring opportunities, and with time running out, Neppl scored the game-winning goal with :05 seconds left. Grossmont got off the game's last shot, but was turned away and the Falcons came out on top. MacDonald led the team with five goals in the game, while Hurtado added three goals and three steals. The Falcon defense came up big in the game, as they recorded five blocks, with Vanzillotta accounting for three of them. Borja was excellent in goal and finished with seven saves.