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In their toughest test of the early
season, the Cerritos College women's water polo team has
already passed the early stages, as they recorded two
wins at the Chaffey Tournament on Thursday. The Falcons,
ranked #4 in the state, solidified that spot with a 10-9
sudden death victory over Golden West College, followed
by an 18-12 triumph over Santa Ana College. Cerritos
(7-0), off to their best start in school history, will
square off against Riverside College, the defending
state champion and top-rated team in the state, on
Saturday. Heading into the tournament, the Tigers were
riding a 31-game winning streak.
The Falcons opened the tournament
against Golden West, as the teams played their four
regulation periods, followed by two three-minute
overtime periods and were still tied. The game moved to
sudden death, with the first team scoring, winning the
game. With most of the focus on freshman
Jeannette Diaz
(Bell Gardens HS),
who had scored six the the team's nine goals up to that
point, sophomore
Berlyn
Sanchez (El
Rancho HS) stepped in and scored the
game-winning goal. Last season, Sanchez finished second
in the state with 106 goals and was an All-American
selection.
It was a tight match from the outset,
with both teams taking a one-goal lead back and forth.
Along with Diaz's six tallies, Sanchez finished with two
goals, as did freshman
Grace
Quintana (Montebello
HS), while sophomore
Roxanne
Cariaga (Cerritos
HS) recorded two steals. The anchors of the
defense were the goalkeeping duo of sophomore
Barbie Diaz
(Bell Gardens HS)
and freshman
Sarah Kenny
(La Habra HS),
as they combined for 11 saves, including several in key
situations.
In their second game against Santa
Ana, the Falcons had only a 30-minute break between
games and as a result, trailed 9-7 at halftime. The team
took full advantage of their halftime break and came out
by scoring nine consecutive goals to take a 16-9
advantage before the Dons came back with three of their
own. Cerritos shut them out the rest of the game and
added two more of their own to secure the win.
Diaz continued to dominate
offensively, as she added eight more goals and drew five
ejections in the game. Whenever the team needed a goal,
Diaz came through and used her strength in front of the
net to position herself for a high-percentage shot.
Sanchez chipped in with three goals and three assists,
while Quintana (three steals) and sophomore
Hanna Anzai
(Cerritos HS)
each accounted for two goals. Barbie Diaz made three
saves during her time in goal, while Kenny had one. |
