M. Water Polo: Tournament finishes with Falcons winning six of eight games

Christian Flores scored six goals in the Falcons two wins on Sunday.
Christian Flores scored six goals in the Falcons two wins on Sunday.

Playing their third day of the Navy Labor Day Open in Annapolis (MD), the Cerritos College men's water polo team won two of their final three games to finish the season-opening trip with a 6-2 record. The Falcons started the day with a 25-10 win over Salem International (WV) University, followed by a 21-9 loss to 14th-ranked Navy and then closed out the trip with a strong 15-4 win over Penn State (Behrend) University. Cerritos will now compete in the Golden West Tournament on Friday, where they will face the host Rustlers (9:45 a.m.) and then play at 12:40 p.m. when they take on Citrus College.

Twelve different players scored in the team's win over Salem, while the goalkeeping tandem of sophomore Michael Skinas (La Habra HS) and freshman Coleton Perez (Western HS) combined to make 12 saves. Of the 12 players that scored, five of them had three goals, with sophomores Samuel Raya (Montebello HS), Chad Castro (Whittier HS) and Christian Flores (Montebello HS) being joined by freshmen Kevin Cordova (Montebello HS) and Josh Owens (Kennedy HS). Freshan TJ Tigerina (Bell Gardens HS) was credited with four assists, while Owens led the team with three steals.

Skinas did all he could to hold off the Midshipmen, as he made nine saves and posted four steals, but the Falcons were unable to counter with much offense against the much bigger opponent. Freshman Albert Kim (Cerritos HS) led the team with three goals and three steals, while freshmen Christian Cordova (Montebello HS) and Miguel Garcia (Montebello HS) each added a pair of goals.

Flores and Garcia were the offensive leaders against Penn State Behrend, as they both found the back of the net three times, while Flores fed them four times. A trio of players each scored twice, while Skinas turned away eight shots and Perez finished with three saves.