Panthers Fall to Falcons in SCC Play

The Chaffey College men's water polo team dropped their second South Coast Conference game of the season, falling 24-7 to Cerritos College on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers battled in stretches but were unable to slow down the Falcons' balanced attack across four quarters.

Chaffey kept the pace in the opening frame, with Vincent Garibay scoring off a feed from Parker Black. Black added a goal of his own with Mario Nikolovski assisting. Goalkeeper Nolan Hanson turned away two shots in the first quarter, but Cerritos built a 5-2 lead after eight minutes.

In the second quarter, Black struck again on an unassisted goal with 40 seconds left in the half, but Cerritos outscored Chaffey 8-1 in the period to take control. The Panthers responded in the third quarter when Aiden Kelley netted an unassisted goal in the closing seconds, bringing the score to 20-4.

Chaffey continued to push in the final frame. Baron Gonzalez scored twice, once off an assist from Black and again from a setup from Evan Fleming, while Black added his third goal of the game. The Falcons maintained their advantage to close out the game.

Black finished with a team-high hat trick and an assist, while Gonzalez added two goals. Kelley and Garibay each tallied one goal apiece. In the cage, Hanson and Adam Kirkpatrick combined for seven saves.

The Panthers will look to rebound when they travel to El Camino College for non-conference play on Wednesday, October 1, at 3 p.m.