With a share of first place in the South Coast Conference on the line, the Cerritos College women's water polo team posted a 5-3 win over visiting Mt. San Antonio College at the Falcon Aquatic Center on Wednesday. Not only did the win keep the Falcons (13-5 overall) in a first place tie with rival Long Beach City College, it was also the first win over the Mounties (12-7, 6-1) since the 2012 season. They will host Long Beach City College at 3:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

Mt. SAC scored the first two goals of the game to take the lead, but Cerritos was able to finally get on the board in the second quarter on a goal by freshman Isabella Sierra (California HS) with 4:32 left in the first half. A little over a minute later, sophomore Vanessa Hinojosa (Bell Gardens HS) tied the game at 2-2. Neither team would score the remainder of the first half. The Falcons had a couple of shots hit the crossbar, including a five-meter attempt by Sierra.

After the Mounties took a 3-2 lead in the third quarter, the Cerritos defense shut them out the remainder of the game. Even though they were playing tight defense, the Falcons missed out on several golded opportunities to score. They did tie the game on a Channon Owens (Kennedy HS) goal with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

It was a pair of Sierra goals in the fourth quarter they gave the team the lead for good, with the final goal coming with 2:54 left on the clock. Cerritos took 29 shots, but also played solid defense and recorded 13 steals. Sierra led the team with four, while Owens had three.

Freshman goalie Ivanna Tostado (Troy HS), who played the second half, allowed just one goal and came up with six saves, including a couple that kept the Mounties from having a shot at pulling out the win. Freshman Dulce Medina (Paramount HS) was in the cage of the first half, and turned away five shots.

Photos by Daryl Peterson