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The
Cerritos College men’s water polo team won their first
three games of the Cuesta Tournament over the weekend
and came up against the host Cougars in the finals. The
Falcons were defeated by the Cougars by an 11-7
decision, which puts their season record at 15-6. The
team will now resume South Coast Conference play on
Wednesday when they travel to Rio Hondo College for a
4:15 match.
To reach the
finals, the Falcons posted wins of 13-5 over Sierra
College and 11-7 over Ventura College on the first day
and then started the second day with a close 9-8 win
over Santa Rosa College. That sent them to the
championship game, where they were defeated by Cuesta.
In the win over
Sierra, Falcon head coach
Joe Abing
gave two goalkeepers a chance to play in the field,
while he allowed two to spend time in the net. Freshman
Josh Del
Toro (Pioneer HS), who saw time in the
net and made three saves, came out to score once and
recorded two steals, while sophomore
Billy Smith
(Cypress HS) picked up two steals, but did not
play in the net. Freshman
Mark Biag
(Cerritos HS) led the offense with three goals,
with freshman
Chris
Argueta (Cathedral HS) contributing two
goals and also made a save when inserted into the
goalkeeper position. Eight other players scored once for
Cerritos, while the team registered 16 steals in the
win. Against Ventura, the trio of Biag, along with
sophomores
AJ Abrego
(El Rancho HS) and
Austin Cooper
(Downey HS) each scored three times, while
sophomore goalkeeper
Alan Nevarez
(Warren HS/Long Beach City College) posted 11
saves. Biag was also a key on defense, as he made five
steals, while Abrego also assisting on three goals.
Once again, the
team turned to Biag in the one-goal win over Santa Rosa,
as he scored four times, while freshman
Michael
Villalobos (Whittier HS) added two goals.
Abrego passed the ball well and finished with three more
assists, with Nevarez turning away six shots. The four
goals by Biag against Cuesta in the finals wasn’t
enough, as the team dropped the game. Nevarez made eight
saves, while the duo of Argueta and sophomore
Andy Laffie
(El Rancho HS) each added two steals. |
