For the second time this season, and seventh since 2018, the Cerritos College men's water polo team could not post a win over rival Long Beach City College. On Wednesday in their South Coast Conference match, the Falcons came up short, 12-7, which dropped their season record to 10-7, while they are now 3-1 in conference play. On Saturday, the team will play in the Occidental College Tournament and face Redlands University before taking on the host team.

In the setback against Long Beach City, the teams were tied 4-4 after with first period, with freshman Dominic Hernandez (Schurr HS) accounting for two of the team's goals. However, the offense went stagnant after that and were held off the board in the second quarter. The Falcons worked the ball around the perimeter, but when they tried to get the ball inside, the Vikings were there to shut them down. And when Cerritos took their outside shots, they were either blocked before they could reach the goal or stopped by Vikings keeper Kai Goeku.

The offensive frustrations continued in the third quarter, as five of the shots by Cerritos hit either the goal post or the crossbar. By contrast, Long Beach City was able to add to their lead and held a 9-4 advantage before the Falcons could respond. Hernandez scored his third of four goals on the day to stop a 6-0 LBCC run.

Along with his four goals, Hernandez drew five exclusions, while the team only converted seven of their 29 shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Owen Fahringer (Long Beach Millikan HS) came up with some big saves, including a five-meter shot, but his 10 saves were not enough to hold back the Vikings.

Photos by Daryl Peterson