Warriors Open Season with Win over Cerritos; Loss at Fullerton
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cerritos (1-2, 0-1) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
|
El Camino (1-0, 1-0) | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 17 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
El Camino (,) | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
|
Fullerton (,) | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
The El Camino College men's water polo squad kicked off the 2017 season on Wednesday with a big home victory over Cerritos before falling to Fullerton on Thursday.
ECC 17, Cerritos 16
Nathaniel Griffith came one goal shy of tying the ECC scoring record in a single game as he tallied nine goals in the Warriors narrow win over the Falcons. Griffith also added two assists and three steals in win while Sam Waters, Jonas Fahrney, Ryan Winkler, Ian Pallares and Levi Griffith all found the back of the net for ECC in the win. Nicholas Elias got the victory in goal as he made 11 saves while facing 27 shots on the day.
The teams played evenly throughout the match as they were tied after the first quarter and again after the second period of play. The Warriors took command in the third as they scored five of the first six goals in the period to take a 12-8 advantage with 2:56 left in the quarter. But the Falcons rallied for three goals in the last 2:30 to cut the ECC lead to two as the final period began.
The Falcons scored two quick goals to start the fourth to tie the game at 13-13 before Griffith and Fahrney combined to score the next three for the Warriors to give them a 16-13 cushion.
The Falcons cut the deficit to one with 17 seconds left but the Warriors were able to keep the ball away from Cerritos and run down the remaining time to secure the victory.
Fullerton 15, ECC 12
On Thursday, the Warriors faced their first road test of the season as they traveled to Fullerton to face the Hornets. Griffith again shined offensively as he led the way with five goals to go along with two assists. Fahrney added three goals while Matthew Thorne scored a pair and Ryan Winkler and Jason Gottschalk also scored in the losing effort. Elias made nine saves on 24 shots in the loss.
The teams played evenly for three of the four quarters, but the second proved to be costly for ECC as the Warriors were outscored 5-1 in the period. The Warriors fell behind 7-3 and never recovered as they suffered their first loss of the year.
The Warriors will return to action on Sept. 13 as they travel to Mount San Antonio for a South Coast Conference tilt on the road. The match will start at 4:30 p.m.
