With their 17-10 win over Mt. San Antonio College on Friday, the Cerritos College men's water polo team will have a showdown against rival Long Beach City College on Saturday. The victory in the South Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game over the Mounties sends the Falcons (22-8) to the championship game, where they will host the Vikings at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Three of the team's losses have come at the hands of LB City this season.

In the win over Mt. SAC, sophomore Marlon Moreno (Colegio Virgen del Rosario, Venezuela) tied the school record with nine goals in the game. The record was set by freshman teammate Angel Rojas (Colegio Fray Luis Amigo, Venezuela) in two of the team's first three games this season. Moreno was one of four players to score in the first period, as the Falcons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. He posted three more in the second period, with Cerritos holding a 9-6 lead at intermission.

Mt. SAC got as close as 12-8 in the third quarter, with Moreno scoring three times. But it was his fourth goal in the quarter that gave the team a 13-8 lead and he added another for a 14-9 lead that the team would not surrender.

Feeding him the ball for most of the game was Rojas, who finished with six assists to go along with his two goals and two steals. Freshman Jeffrey Park (Cerritos HS) added two goals and five assists, with sophomore Matthew Skinas (La Serna HS) posting three goals. Cerritos will have to play the remainder of the season without their best 2-meter defender, sophomore Peter Roldan (Downey HS), who was injured in an accident the night before.

Sophomore goalie Alfredo De La Mora (Bell Gardens HS) recorded eight blocks in the win.

Photos by Daryl Peterson