M. Water Polo: Winning streak now at seven after tournament sweep

File Photo: Max Gomez scored seven goals in the four Falcon wins at the Saddleback Tournament
File Photo: Max Gomez scored seven goals in the four Falcon wins at the Saddleback Tournament

The Cerritos College men's water polo team extended their winning streak to seven games after they won all four of their contests at the Saddleback Tournament over the weekend. The Falcons (13-5, 3-0) will now host Long Beach City College (5-2, 1-0) at 4:15 p.m. in a South Coast Conference game that has been moved to Cerritos after a water pump broke in the Vikings pool. Over the weekend, Cerritos disposed of four teams, defeating the host Gauchos (16-9) and El Camino (13-8) on the first day and then followed that with wins over Santa Monica (18-9) and Chaffey (16-6). The Falcons were the only 4-0 team at the tournament.

Cerritos vs. Saddleback: Freshman Kevin Rubio (La Serna HS) led a balanced scoring attack, as he scored five times in the win over the Gauchos. Six different players scored once, with sophomore Max Gomez (Whittier HS) posting three goals and three assists, with sophomore Michael Hanna (Cerritos HS) accounting for two goals. Sophomore Andrew Javier (Cerritos HS) played a solid defensive game and recorded six steals, with sophomore Jesus Munoz (Montebello HS/Notre Dame (OH) College) dishing out four assists. The Falcons received a combined five saves and three assists from goalkeepers Pedro Rodriguez (Downey HS) and Grant Jimenez (Cerritos HS).

Cerritos vs. El Camino: In a preview of their conference match at the end of the month, the Falcons pulled out the win behind three goals each from Rubio and freshman Felix Gonzalez (Montebello HS). Cerritos was an effective 13-for-26 with their shooting, while Rodriguez turned away seven Warrior shots and posted a pair of steals. Rubio and sophomore Jacob Erdtsieck (Western HS) each had three steals, with Munoz and Hanna each contributing a pair of goals.

Cerritos vs. Santa Monica: In the morning on their second day, the Falcons received four goals from Munoz, while Hanna and Gonzalez both scored three goals in the big win. Gomez, Rubio and Erdstsieck each scored twice, with Gonzalez dishing out a season-high seven assists. As a team, Cerritos had 21 steals, with Javier posting six, while sophomore Carlos Abrego (Bell Gardens HS) finished with four. Jimenez came up with eight saves in goal, while sophomore Joseph Owens (Kennedy HS) added four saves in his time in the cage.

Cerritos vs. Chaffey: Back on September 17, the Falcons defeated the Panthers, 17-6 in their conference match. In the final game of the Saddleback Tournament, Cerritos recorded a 16-6 victory, with sophomore Alberto Gonzalez (Montebello HS) leading the way with four goals. Hanna finished with three goals, two assists and two steals, while Munoz (four steals), Abrego and Erdtsieck (two steals) all scored twice. Javier also had four steals, while Jimenez recorded 10 saves in goal.