Cerritos College women water polo team dominated in its conference opener Sept. 17 with a 20-1 victory over Pasadena City College.
Freshman Ceci Ortiz-Miranda led the Falcons with four goals while Camila Oliveira and Valeria Barboza each contributed three goals.
The Falcons performance saw 11 players scoring at least one goal showcasing the team’s depth,
Freshman goalkeeper Jayden Starr-Smith made three saves in the game.
Cerritos College head coach Sergio Macias said his team came out with intensity and purpose against Pasadena City College refusing to play down to their opponents.
“We didn’t want to play down to the opponents level we wanted to play up,” Macias said. “Once we got an early lead, my focus was on keeping them focused throughout the game so we could learn and benefit from the experience.”
Macias praised his team’s depth and intensity noting that 16 field players contributed to the win.
“I am most proud of the depth and intensity our team showed today,” he said. “Everyone brought a high level of energy and eagerness to play well.”
Macias said that defense and discipline are the core principles guiding his coaching approach.
“Denying passes and making it tough for the opponent to move the ball,” he said. “That feeds our offense to score some goals on the other end. Team defense makes sure we are all on the same page, moving without the ball and doing the same movements.”
Driver Eleonor Curiel said, “Everyone did a great job providing opportunities and working together.”
Juliette Suarez said, “We definitely have some areas to improve, but overall, we did a really good job.”
On adapting to the opponents, defensive and offensive strategies, Suarez credited the team’s strong defense.
“We worked on our offense to counter their defense, and our defense is already pretty strong,” she said.
“We did our best to defend and help our teammates.” Curiel said.
Looking ahead Suarez said the team is focused on implementing the skills they’ve practiced into their games.
“We need to implement those teachings in our game,” Suarez said.
“We’ve improved a lot in practice, but now we need to bring that into our games,” Curiel said.
The Falcons will host Chaffey College at 4:15 p.m. next Sept. 24 in another conference match.
