W. Water Polo: Season comes to an end with loss

Mayra Olivas finished the season with the school record in steals
Mayra Olivas finished the season with the school record in steals

In the first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs on Friday morning, the Cerritos College women's water polo team suffered a 12-10 loss to San Diego Mesa College, which ended their season. The Falcons (14-13), who were seeded #8 for the playoffs, had numerous chances to post the win over the #9-seeded Olympians (17-9), but missed out on scoring chances and committed 14 turnovers. Cerritos also played the match in their home pool, as they are hosting the three-day event.

The team's leading scorer, freshman Kate De La Mora (Schurr HS) led the team with five goals, but struggled in the first half to control the ball when in a good scoring position. In the fourth quarter, her five-meter shot was blocked by San Diego Mesa goalkeeper Kira Hamrick, while another shot rattled off both the post and crossbar, only to be pulled out by Hamrick before it went into the net. She still led the team in goals for the game and on the year.

A late goal at the end of the first half gave the Olympians a 6-5 lead and they would never trail again, as the Falcons were forced to play from behind the remainder of the game. Freshman Carolina Medrano (Schurr HS) played one of her better offensive games of the season, as she accounted for four goals and three steals. Trailing 12-7, Medrano scored twice in a row and assisted on De La Mora's goal with :19 seconds remaining. But it wasn't enough to bring the team back.

With her three assists in the match against San Diego Mesa, sophomore Lizbeth Gomez (Schurr HS) concluded the season with 83 assists, which is far and away the best single-season mark in school history and gives her 116 career steals, which is also a school record. Freshman Mayra Olivas (Montebello HS) picked up two more steals to end the season with a school record 105 thefts on the year. She is the first player in school history to eclipse the 100-steal mark. The two also end their season leading the state in their respective categories. Sophomore goalkeeper Dulce Medina (Paramount HS) recorded 194 saves this season, which is the sixth most in a Falcon season, while the 88 goals by De La Mora puts her name eighth in a season in school history.

Photos by Daryl Peterson