Taking on a pair of conference leading teams in the Cerritos Mini Tournament on Friday, the Cerritos College women's water polo team picked a critical win towards their postseason hopes. In the first game of the day, the Falcons (11-7) dropped a 14-7 decision to Orange Empire Conference leader Orange Coast College, but followed that with a thrilling 9-8 win over Palomar College, who leads the Pacific Coast Conference. Things don't get much easier for Cerritos, who will host South Coast Conference co-leader Long Beach City College (22-0, 5-0) at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner of the game will have sole possession of first place in the SCC.

Cerritos vs. Orange Coast: It was a slow start for the Falcons in their first game, as the state's #3-ranked Pirates scored the first nine goals of the game. Cerritos responded with four consecutive goals, with two each from Isabella Ochoa (California HS) and Monserrat Rodriguez (Western HS). Freshman goalie Jayden-Starr Smith (Buena Park HS) was also an offensive star, as she scored a pair of goals, assisted on another and mde six steals. Her second goal of the game came with one second left in the match.

Cerritos vs. Palomar: The win over the Comets will go a long way for the Falcons, who opened the season with a loss to Palomar. Cerritos opened the game with three straight goals and led 5-2 in the second period. However, the Comets would tie the game at 7-7 heading into the final period. They took a brief 8-7 lead before the Falcons would tie the game with 3:17 remaining on a goal from sophomore Camila Oliveira (Cerritos HS). Defensively, the Falcons kept the Comets off the board the remainder of the game, with Smith coming up with several saves, including one at the buzzer, which would have sent the game into overtime. The winning goal came from Isabel Guillen (Whittier HS) with 1:44 on the clock, which was her lone goal of the game. Smith added another goal and three assists to her season total, while she made 11 saves on goal.

Photos by Daryl Peterson