Cypress, Grossmont advance at men's water polo regional with close victories

Recaps from Day 1

GAME 5 (Men)
Cypress 13, Grossmont 12 – In a battle right down to the final seconds, it was the Chargers (14-12), who pulled out the victory over the Griffins (22-10) to earn a place in the quarterfinals and a matchup with No. 1 Golden West on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. Christian Acosta's late goal iced the game for Cypress, putting the Chargers up 13-11 with 49 seconds remaining. Grossmont's Jake Simpson scored the fifth of his five goals with 27 seconds left to make it 13-12, but the Chargers kept the ball away from the Griffins on the final possession to preserve the win. Peter Rosenlof led the Chargers with four goals and five assists, while Wes Brazada tossed in four goals and Kai Banua added three goals. Zach Populous (Cypress) and Zeke Antunez (Grossmont) each recorded six saves in the match.

GAME 6 (Men)
Cerritos 15, El Camino 14 (OT) – The last match of the day turned out to be the most exciting as the Falcons (17-12) needed a golden goal from Tim Robles to keep Cerritos' season alive. The Warriors (23-13) put forth a valiant effort, forcing the sudden-death situation after a game-tying goal from Scott Fujiwara with five seconds left in the second 3-minute overtime period. Robles led Cerritos with five goals, while Guillermo De La Mora added three. For the Warriors, Robbie Josic had three goals, while Fujiwara, Cooper Josic and Max Hale each recorded two.

(Tony Altobelli, Orange Coast College Athletics)