After a tightly contested first half against visiting Chaffey College on Wednesday, the Cerritos College men's water polo team produced 11 second half goals on their way to a 14-8 win. The win by the Falcons improved their overall record to 9-5, while they are 2-1 in South Coast Conference play. The team will compete in the Riverside City Tournament this weekend.

With the score knotted at 4-4 early in the second half, Cerritos would score three of the next four goals before the end of the period to take a 7-5 lead. The defense then shut down the Panthers in the fourth quarter, while accounting for seven goals on offense, including six of the final eight to secure the win. Of those seven fourth quarter goals, four were scored on backhand shots.

Freshman Arturo Ortuno (Universidad La Salle HS, Mexico) scored all three of his goals in the fourth quarter, with five different players getting on the scoreboard during the final eight minutes. Joining him on the scoreboard three times was freshman Raul Muniz (Colbach HS, Mexico), who also assists on three goals, with the two combining for nine steals.

In net, sophomore Matthew Contreras (Montebello HS) came up with eight saves, and was also aggressive on defense with three steals. On several occasions in the fourth quarter, saves by Contreras helped jump-start the offense, which led to odd-man rushes.

Sophomores Bryan Santis (La Serna HS) and Salvador Orozco (Montebello HS) each scored twice, with four others tallying one goal in the win. Muniz and sophomore Mark Arroyo (Schurr HS) each assisted on three goals for the Falcons.

Photos by Daryl Peterson