Sophomore driver Miguel Garcia was content, but not so pleased, with the men’s water polo team’s 14-9 loss against Long Beach City College Wednesday Oct. 2 at home.

“We did good, we started off very strong,” Garcia said.

Although valiant catch-up performances from the team were displayed, Garcia believed the second half was the downfall.

“I guess you could say we got tired a little,” Garcia said. “We know what we have to improve on now.”

Garcia mentioned that one of the main flaws is conditioning. During practice, Garcia, and the team as a whole, plan to work on that.

The Falcons played the game in a very patient manner as the team would surround the opposition’s net and pass back and forth throughout the attackers. The relentless pressure adopted by the Long Beach Vikings proved to be a better play option to attack the Falcon’s net in a more effective way, however.

“I think we came out strong and kept it up,” freshman goalkeeper Alfredo De La Mora said. “The fourth quarter hurt us a lot.”

De La Mora wishes to exercise the mistake of miscommunication during practice to correct the team for the next game.

While Long Beach City College scored the opening goal and held the lead, the Falcons caught up and surpassed the away team. The Falcon’s lead was short lived as the game became a sparring conflict with each team conceding goals.

“As long as they listen to me and the coach, we’ll be fine, “De La Mora said. “It’s just little slip ups here and there.”

He added, “Other than that, the team is doing well on defense.”

Being the man furthest in the back, the goalie is the eyes behind the head of his defenders. De La Mora believes that with the guidance of the coach and orders from himself, the defense will have what it takes to face a team like Long Beach City College by which De La Mora dubs is ‘always a good team.’

To defeat a team like Long Beach City College, the team must stay focused, according to De La Mora.

“We need to stay focused and keep working hard. It’s up to who wants it more, and if we really want it, we are going to make it happen.”

“Overall I was pleased with our effort,” head coach Joe Abing said. “We had good energy. I guess my one disappointment would be our defensive breakdowns in the fourth quarter.”

Abing wishes to focus on the first quarter and correct the team there.

“We got to watch the game on film, see what went wrong and make the necessary adjustments which is conditioning,” Abing stated.

Conditioning, in the eyes of the coaching staff, was not at top performance as Abing mentioned that fatigue tormented the Falcons in the fourth quarter.

The men’s water polo team will study its mistakes and prepare for the Riverside tournament on Friday, Oct. 4.