Cerritos College’s men’s water polo team are on a two game winning streak as they head into the home stretch of the regular season.
Sophomore utility No. 2 Dylan Sun receiving a pass, looking to advance the ball.
Falcons’ water polo is currently 16-7 overall with five games left in the season.
The team has scored 260 goals this season, they also have 172 assists in 23 games this season.
Some of the team’s highest scoring performances came from the San Diego Mesa tournament in September. The Falcons scored 23 goals against Southwestern College, while only conceding six.
Men’s water polo most recently won three out of four games at the Saddleback tournament on Oct. 19-20.
Sophomore driver No. 7 Arturo Ortuno preparing to take the shot with a pump fake.
Head coach Joe Abing is happy with the team’s progress in the season so far.
He said, “We have improved quite a bit, we still have room to grow in the coming weeks.
“We have worked hard on all areas of the game and improved on each part. Our defense has been our strength all year and our offense continues to get better.”
Following the regular season, there’s no vacation for the team as the players still have the South Coast Conference tournament.
“Our conference is really tough, we should have a decent seed going into the conference tournament, so hopefully we get the job done then,” Abing said.
One of the last home games will be against the Long Beach City College Vikings in a conference match at home on Oct. 24.
The Vikings are currently leading the South Coast Conference, while the Falcons are sitting in third with a record of 3-1.
Abing said, “We’re always prepared for each week and I feel we’re ready for this last stretch of the season.”
Freshman goalkeeper No. 1 Zachary Jenkins attempting a save.
The Falcons lost in the South Coast Conference tournament finals in a close game last year to the Vikings 14-12.
Cerritos College’s men’s water polo team will follow the conference match with its last regular season home game against Merced College on Oct. 25.
Abing says the team is ready for playoffs, “There are a lot of tough teams we could face in the playoffs, but if we play to our potential, we can win any game.
“We have a hard working team that is playing well together, we need to work as a unit in order to do well in playoffs.”
The team’s offense is based on mostly drivers, they look for the fast break.
“Our offense is often a result of how a team chooses to play defense on us,” Abing said.
The Falcons lost the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California championships to Los Angeles Valley College 11-8.
The team is looking forward to another try at the CCCAA SoCal championship starting on Nov. 8.
