W Water Polo: Pair of wins sends Falcons to tournament finals

Elizabeth Megaw scored four times in the Falcons semifinal win
Elizabeth Megaw scored four times in the Falcons semifinal win

Hosting the South Coast Conference Tournament over the weekend, the Cerritos College women's water polo team posted a pair of wins and have advanced to the championship game. The Falcons (19-8) opened with a 14-4 win over Chaffey College in their first game and followed that with a 17-7 semifinal victory over Mt. San Antonio College. On Saturday, they will take on Long Beach City College at 4:00 p.m. in the tournament finals.

Cerritos vs. Chaffey: Taking on the #7-seeded Panthers in their first game, the Falcons posted a 14-4 victory. A slow start to the game saw them lead just 3-0 after the first period, with sophomore Mayra Olivas (Montebello HS) scoring the first two goals of the game. Her sister, Marisela Olivas (Schurr HS), scored two times in the second period, as Cerritos opened a 7-1 lead at halftime. The defense kept Chaffey off the scoreboard in two of the four periods and held a 14-2 advantage before the Panthers scored the game's final two goals. Mayra Olivas and sophomore Carolina Medrano (Schurr HS), who had two goals in the third period, led the offense with three goals each, as the team saw eight different players score goals. Sophomore Amy Cervantes (Montebello HS/East Los Angeles College) added to her school record and state-leading assist total with five helpers in the win, while sophomore Mia Carbajal (Schurr HS) assisted on four goals. Carbajal also led the team with three steals and three ejections drawn in the win.

Cerritos vs. Mt. San Antonio: Taking on the Mounties in the semifinals, a 5-2 first period lead became a commanding 10-3 lead at intermission. Freshman Elizabeth Megaw (West Torrance HS) scored three consecutive times in the final 1:42 of the first period to break a 2-2 game and give Cerritos a lead they would not relinquish. Cervantes, who had nine assists in the game, was responsible for all three with her passes. The nine assists put her over the century mark on the year, as she has 101 on the season and easily leads the state while continuing to add to her single-season school record. Carbajal would go on to lead all scorers with seven goals and also contributed five steals, with Megaw finishing with a season-high four goals. Mayra Olivas also finished with five steals in the win, with freshman goalkeeper April Nuno (Cerritos HS) turning away eight shots to earn the win.