It was a slow start to the season for the Cerritos College women's water polo team. But in the last two weeks, the Falcons have won five of their last six games and are now 5-6 on the year after picking up three wins in four games at the Golden West Tournament over the weekend. Cerritos opened with a 15-1 win over East Los Angeles College, which also served as a South Coast Conference game. They followed that with a 20-7 win against Grossmont. On Saturday, Cerritos dropped an 11-6 game against the host Rustlers and capped off the weekend by 

Cerritos vs. East Los Angeles: Taking on the Huskies in a conference match, the Falcons scored the first 14 goals of the game, as they were looking to record a shutout. East LA finally on the board with 4:46 left in the game. All seven field players scored at least one goal, with freshman Anabella Gama (Cerritos HS) leading the team with five goals, which were the final five Cerritos scored. Sophomore Miranda Alvarez (Schurr HS) accounted for three goals, with sophomores Kaya Glynn (Cerritos HS) and Angelina Romero (Schurr HS) each scoring twice and adding three assists. As a team, Cerritos recorded 21 steals, with Alvarez and Romero pacing the team with five each. Freshman goalie Alyssa Sorrells (Bell Gardens HS) posted five saves and assisted on a goal.

 

Cerritos vs. Grossmont: Trailing the Griffins, 3-1 after the first period, the Falcons responded with a six-goal second quarter to take a 7-4 lead at halftime. Romero scored three times in the quarter, while Romero picked up two goals. The offensive onslaught continued in the second half with 13 more goals, while limiting Grossmont to just three goals. Romero (three assists) and Alvarez (seven steals) each had five goals, with Glynn assisting on eight goals and accounted for three goals and three steals. The Falcons scored on 20 of their 35 shots, with Gama converting all three of her shot attempts, while freshman Melissa Prata (Downey HS) posted three goals. Sorrells, who assisted on another goal, turned away nine shots in the win.

 

Cerritos vs. Golden West: With the game being played at Orange Coast College, the Falcons opened an early 3-2 lead after the first period. However, they were limited to single goals in each of the final three periods against the Rustler. A 4-4 game at halftime turned into a 7-5 deficit heading into the final eight minutes. The Falcons, who were victimized by 12 turnovers, could not add to their total after a Glynn goal with 2:53 remaining made it an 8-6 Golden West lead. The Rustlers padded their score with three goals in the final 1:53. Alvarez and Romero scored two goals each, while Sorrells kept the team in the game with a season-high 15 saves. 

Cerritos vs. Los Angeles Valley: Locked in a battle with the Monarchs in their final game of the tournament, a game that was tied nine times came down to a couple of defensive plays and a timely goal for the Falcons to escape with a win. With time running out in the fourth quarter and the scored tied at 10-10, Romero found the back of the net with 1:52 remaining for her fourth goal of the game. It would turn out to be the game-winner, as neither team would score the remainder of the game. Sorrells had her second straight 15-save performance to lead Cerritos, while all seven players posted at least one steal. Romero had four of them, while Prata turned in three goals to aid the offense.