Posted: Oct 30, 2021
Competing in their final tournament of the season prior to the South Coast Conference Tournament, the Cerritos College women's water polo team posted two wins in three games at the Santa Barbara Halloween Invitational this weekend. The Falcons (18-6) opened with an 8-6 win over the UC Santa Barbara Club Team on Friday before suffering a tough 9-7 double overtime decision to the host Vaqueros, who are ranked #2 in the state. They finished by defeating the #1-ranked team in the state, West Valley College, 10-8.
Next up will be the SCC Tournament, where the Falcons are seeded #2 and will take on #7-seeded Chaffey College at 10:15 a.m. at Mt. San Antonio College.
Cerritos vs. UC Santa Barbara Club Team: The tournament opened with a late game on Friday night against the Gauchos club team, with the Falcons locking down an impressive win. Trailing 4-2 in the second period, sophomore Mia Carbajal (Schurr HS) scored twice, while freshman Miranda Alvarez (Schurr HS) added a goal to put Cerritos on top, 5-4 at halftime. The defense tightened for both teams in the third quarter, with sophomore Gabriella Arenas (Montebello HS) accounting for the lone goal at 2:52 to make it a 6-4 lead. The advantage increased to 7-4 after Carbajal scored, while she added her fourth of the game to aid in the win. Arenas contributed two goals and two assists, while Alvarez had four of the team's nine steals on the night. Freshman Leslie Meza (California HS) played the entire game in goal and turned away seven shots.
Cerritos vs. Santa Barbara City: Taking on the host Vaqueros, the Falcons were doing everything right and after an offensive-minded first quarter, each team clamped down on defense. Both teams were limited to just one combined goal each over the next two periods, with Cerritos taking a 4-3 lead into the final quarter. An early Kimberly Vasquez (Downey HS) goal gave Cerritos a two-goal cushion until Santa Barbara responded with a pair of goals to tie the game at 5-5. It was a 6-5 lead after Carbajal scored, but the Vaqueros tied the game again with 1:41, which sent the game into overtime. In the extra period, it appeared as though the goal by Keyla Santos (Schurr HS) with 2:04 remaining might hold up. But SBCC tied the game on a goal with just :17 seconds remaining and then accounted for the only two goals in the second overtime. The second goal came as a result of a penalty with 1:23 left. Carbajal and Alvarez each scored twice, while Carbajal also led the defense with six steals. Meza turned away six shots in the game.
Cerritos vs. West Valley: The Falcons dropped a 10-7 decision to West Valley in their first tournament of the season, and came out in the first period in their second meeting by putting six goals on the board. Five different goal scorers paced Cerritos, with sophomore Melodie Carbajal (El Rancho HS/Fullerton College) capping off the period on a goal with :03 left on the clock for a 6-2 advantage. A three-goal scoring burst in the span of a little over a minute helped the Falcons take their lead. The teams traded goals in the second period, but the Vikings held Cerritos off the board in the third period and closed the gap to 8-6 with just one period remaining. Mia Carbajal scored on the team's opening possession, while Santos added an insurance goal for a 10-6 lead. West Valley did score the last two goals of the game, but Cerritos was able to maintain their lead for the final 3:51 and handed the Vikings just their second loss of the season. Santos and Mia Carbajal each posted a pair of goals, while Santos also assisted on four tallies. Meza was solid in net and registered 10 saves.
Cerritos vs. Santa Barbara City: Taking on the host Vaqueros, the Falcons were doing everything right and after an offensive-minded first quarter, each team clamped down on defense. Both teams were limited to just one combined goal each over the next two periods, with Cerritos taking a 4-3 lead into the final quarter. An early Kimberly Vasquez (Downey HS) goal gave Cerritos a two-goal cushion until Santa Barbara responded with a pair of goals to tie the game at 5-5. It was a 6-5 lead after Carbajal scored, but the Vaqueros tied the game again with 1:41, which sent the game into overtime. In the extra period, it appeared as though the goal by Keyla Santos (Schurr HS) with 2:04 remaining might hold up. But SBCC tied the game on a goal with just :17 seconds remaining and then accounted for the only two goals in the second overtime. The second goal came as a result of a penalty with 1:23 left. Carbajal and Alvarez each scored twice, while Carbajal also led the defense with six steals. Meza turned away six shots in the game.
Cerritos vs. West Valley: The Falcons dropped a 10-7 decision to West Valley in their first tournament of the season, and came out in the first period in their second meeting by putting six goals on the board. Five different goal scorers paced Cerritos, with sophomore Melodie Carbajal (El Rancho HS/Fullerton College) capping off the period on a goal with :03 left on the clock for a 6-2 advantage. A three-goal scoring burst in the span of a little over a minute helped the Falcons take their lead. The teams traded goals in the second period, but the Vikings held Cerritos off the board in the third period and closed the gap to 8-6 with just one period remaining. Mia Carbajal scored on the team's opening possession, while Santos added an insurance goal for a 10-6 lead. West Valley did score the last two goals of the game, but Cerritos was able to maintain their lead for the final 3:51 and handed the Vikings just their second loss of the season. Santos and Mia Carbajal each posted a pair of goals, while Santos also assisted on four tallies. Meza was solid in net and registered 10 saves.
