M. Water Polo: Falcons win three of four at tournament

File Photo: Dominic Hernandez earns All-American honors
File Photo: Dominic Hernandez earns All-American honors
Playing in yet another tournament filled with some of the best teams in Southern California, the Cerritos College men's water polo team won three of four games at the Golden West II Tournament over the weekend. On Friday, the Falcons (15-9) dropped a 13-10 decision to a talented Cuesta College team and followed that with a hard-fought 13-11 win over Northern California power Sierra College. The tight games continued on Saturday, as Cerritos ousted Los Angeles Valley College, 13-11 before closing out with a 9-5 decision over Riverside City College. The team will travel down South to play in the Dia De Los Muertos Tournament at Southwestern College next weekend.

Cerritos vs. Cuesta: The Cougars, who entered the game with just three losses all season, found the Falcons to be a difficult opponent, as the two teams remained tied until 6-6 late in the second quarter. Cuesta did get a shot past freshman goalkeeper Owen Fahringer (Long Beach Millikan HS) right before halftime and followed with two consecutive goals to start the third quarter for a three-goal lead. Cerritos was victimized by 13 turnovers, but finally broke a 7:31 dry spell when freshman Dominic Hernandez (Schurr HS) scored with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter. The Cougars then scored four of the next six goals to secure the victory. Sophomore Joey Hurtado (Cerritos HS) led the team with three goals, while Hernandez added a pair of goals and three steals. Fahringer, who played very well at times, finished with four saves.

Cerritos vs. Sierra: Locked in another tight battle, the two teams combined for nine goals in the first quarter, while they could only come up with a single goal in the second period, as both defenses began to clamp down. The Falcons scored their goals in bunches, as they accounted for three straight in the first quarter and then received goals from sophomores Juan Anguiano (Kennedy HS) and Mario Vanzillotta (Colegio Palas, Brazil HS) to end the first quarter, while Hurtado scored the lone goal in the second quarter. Aside from surrendering the game's first two goals, Cerritos never trailed in the game and increased their advantage to 11-6 after sophomore Seamus MacDonald (Long Beach Millikan HS) scored twice and sophomore Ben Neppl (Long Beach Millikan HS/Long Beach City College) added a goal midway through the fourth quarter. The Wolverines drew to within 11-8, but Hernandez and Neppl countered with goals to lead 13-8, while Sierra posted the final three goals. A quartet of players each scored twice, with eight players recording an assist, including freshman goalkeeper Rene Borja (Schurr HS), who turned in seven saves to earn the win.

Cerritos vs. Los Angeles Valley: Another team the Falcons have had close battles with over the years, Cerritos had to come back from an 8-6 deficit early in the second half to record the win. Hernandez scored twice, while Anguiano added another goal, as the Falcons responded with three straight tallies to regain the lead. After a Monarchs goal with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter, the match was tied at 11-11. But the Cerritos defense stiffened, and the team got two consecutive goals from Vanzillotta to account for the final goals of the game and secured the victory. Hernandez led the team with five goals, while Vanzillotta recorded four goals. Fahringer played the first half in goal and made four saves, with Borja taking over in the second half and matched the save total to earn the win.

Cerritos vs. Riverside City: In their final contest of the tournament, the Falcons played solid defense to keep the Tigers off-balance the whole game. Hernandez scored a pair of first quarter goals, with freshman Abimael Anorve (Mira Costa HS) and Nepple scored in the second quarter, with the defense keeping Riverside City off the board. Leading 6-4 heading into the fourth quarter, MacDonald opened with a goal, while Vanzillotta and Hernandez each scored, with both teams unable to add to their total the final 5:30 of the game. Hernandez led the way with four goals, with five other players scoring once. Hernandez and freshman Michael Reyes (Cerritos HS) accounted for five of the team's seven steals, with Fahringer posting seven saves to earn the win in goal.