In their South Coast Conference opener, the Cerritos College men's water polo team suffered a close 17-16 loss at the hands of host El Camino College. The Falcons (1-2, 0-1) will now head east to compete in the Mercyhurst (PA) College Tournament. They will play one game on Friday, followed by a pair of matches on both Saturday and Sunday.

It was a tight match against the Warriors, with the score tied six times. El Camino took a 17-14 lead with 1:33 remaining in the match on a goal by Sam Waters. But Cerritos wasn't done and made the game close with a pair of goals. Sophomore Julian Casillas (Harvard-Westlake HS/University of La Verne) made it a 17-15 score when he found the back of the net with :33 seconds remaining. After turning the Warriors away on their next possession, freshman Dylan Sun (Cerritos HS) scored with :17 seconds left in regulation. However, El Camino was able to run out the clock and secure the win.

Casillas led the team with six goals, while the quartet of Sun, sophomores Salvador Orozco (Montebello HS) and Mark Arroyo (Schurr HS), along with freshman Arturo Ortuno (Universidad La Salle, Mexico) all accounted for a pair of goals on the day. Freshman Raul Muniz (Colbach HS, Mexico) and sophomore Bryan Santis (La Serna HS) each paced the team with four steals, with sophomore goalie Matthew Contreras (Montebello HS) recording nine saves.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Guerrero/ECC Sports Information