The Cerritos College men's water polo team played a pair of nationally-ranked four-year colleges at the Whittier Tournament on Saturday. The Falcons (1-3) dropped a 22-11 decision to Concordia University, while they were defeated by the host Poets, 16-12. Cerritos will host Ventura College in their home opener at noon on Friday.

In the loss to the Eagles, sophomore Miguel Garcia (Montebello HS) scored a game-high seven goals, while freshman Eugene Lee (Hacienda Heights Wilson HS) contributed three goals for the Falcons. They didn't help their cause with 18 turnovers, but the young team didn't shy away from the competition. Freshman goalie Alfredo De La Mora (Bell Gardens HS) posted 10 saves.

Cerritos did take a 3-2 lead against Whittier, but then allowed six straight goals and didn't with to within striking distance until a goal by sophomore Albert Kim (Cerritos HS) with 5:23 left in the third quarter got them to within a 10-8 score. A balanced Whittier scoring attack was enough to hold off the Falcons, as they received goals from eight different players. Garcia led Cerritos with five goals with freshman Marlon Moreno (Virgen del Rosario HS, Venezuela) adding three goals.