With a chance at a three-way tie for first place in the South Coast Conference on the line, the Cerritos College women's water polo team dropped a 10-6 home decision against Long Beach City College on Wednesday. The setback dropped the Falcons (12-11, 5-2) into third place in the conference after the end of the regular season. They will open the conference tournament on Friday, November 2 at 9:00 a.m. against Rio Hondo College, a team they defeated 16-0 in their first meeting of the season. Cerritos will serve as the host of the tournament, which will run through Saturday.

Trailing 7-3 early in the third period, the Falcons made their move and scored the next three goals of the match to make it a 7-6 affair. Freshman Kate De La Mora (Schurr HS) scored her second goal of the period at 6:09, with freshman Karol Martinez (Warren HS) scoring on a long lob a little over a minute later. After the defense held on the Vikings next possession, freshman Carolina Medrano (Schurr HS) made it a 7-6 match with 4:18 left in the period.

However, that would turn out to be their final goal of the match, with LB City accounting for the final three goals to secure the win. Late in the first half, De La Mora was turned away on a 5-meter penalty shot, with the Falcons converting just 6-of-23 shots. The team also committed 16 turnovers and countered that with just six steals.

De La Mora and Martinez each scored two goals, while sophomore Lizbeth Gomez (Schurr HS) added to her state-leading and school-record assist total with four more, giving her 73 on the year. As for freshman Mayra Olivas (Montebello HS), she continues to lead the state with 92 steals after collecting three more and sits in third place on the school's single-season list. The record of 98 steals was set by Stephanie Tuning in 2011.

Photos by Daryl Peterson