Granted, the Cerritos College men's water polo team would liked to have been playing for the state championship on Saturday. But they ended their season with a thrilling 20-18 overtime victory over West Valley College to place third in the state. It marked the highest finish in the program's history.

The game against West Valley went back and forth from the outset, with neither team opening up a large lead. The Falcons (28-11) took advantage of three five-meter goals by freshman Miguel Garcia (Montebello HS), while the Vikings received one from Marko Zuric in the fourth quarter. It was Zuric's sixth goal of the game with :40 seconds left that sent the match into overtime.

Cerritos received six goals from sophomore Christian Flores (Montebello HS), along with the four goals from Garcia. Playing without All-American candidate goalie Michael Skinas (La Serna HS), who missed the game due to an injury, the Falcons saw freshman Coleton Perez (Western HS) come in and make 10 saves in the win. Sophomore Daric Johnson (Whitter HS) and freshman TJ Tigerina (Bell Gardens HS) added three goals each in the win.

Photo by Daryl Peterson