Playing a pair of South Coast Conference games in the same day, the Cerritos College women's water polo team split their contests. The Falcons (7-15, 3-4) opened with an 18-17 double-overtime loss to Rio Hondo College and followed that with a 13-11 victory over East Los Angeles College. The team will now compete in the Battle at the Beach over the weekend. They will face Saddleback (8:00 a.m.) and the host Chargers (2:30 p.m.) on Friday at Cypress College and then play a pair of games at Long Beach City College on Saturday.

Cerritos vs. Rio Hondo: In a game that saw both teams trade goals throughout the match, the Falcons would be able to fight back from a 12-9 deficit at the end of the third quarter. Goals by sophomores Carla Harvey (Potomac Falls, VA HS) and Celeste Ibarra (Gahr HS), along with freshman Kristina Ramirez (Lakewood HS) in the first 1:32 of the fourth quarter tied the game at 12-12. The Roadrunners did open a 15-13 advantage with 1:59 left, but once again Cerritos would score two straight to knot the game. Harvey scored with 1:42 left and then with :23 seconds remaining to tie the game. In the first overtime, Rio Hondo scored first until freshman Breanna Zuniga (California HS) tied the score at 16-16 with 1:02 left. After Karina De La Rosa put the Roadrunners on top, Harvey scored with 1:36 left in the second overtime. Emily Mana scored the eventual game-winning goal - her ninth - with :55 seconds left. Cerritos had one last shot attempt, but Zuniga's shot missed the cage. Harvey scored seven goals in the match, while Zuniga, Ibarra and Ramirez each had three goals. Sophomore Ashley Padilla (California HS) recorded seven steals and three assists, while Zuniga also assisted on three goals.

Cerritos vs. East Los Angeles: With only about 45 minutes between matches, the Falcons got off to a slow start and allowed four straight goals to the Huskies in the first quarter. But Cerritos would score seven goals in the second period and take an 8-7 lead at halftime, thanks to the play of Ibarra, who scored four of her seven goals in that period. One of the biggest moves came in goal, as freshman Amanda Rabb (Gahr HS) saw her first time in that position and recorded 11 saves in three periods of work. She had six of those stops in the fourth quarter, as the Falcons were holding off ELAC. Freshman Kristin Park (Cerritos HS) moved from goalie to the field and led the team with five assists and four steals. The Huskies did hold a 10-9 lead in the third period, but Cerritos went on to score four of the last five goals in the game. Padilla (two goals) tied the game at 10-10, while Zuniga put the team up, 11-10 at the end of the third quarter. Harvey (three goals, three assists) and Ramirez, who had three assists, also played well.

Photos by Daryl Peterson