There is a first time for everything and head coach Sergio Macias proved it by taking the women’s water polo team to its first state championship title in Cerritos College history.

“It’s a big accomplishment. Our goal from the very beginning of the season was to win a state title. We wanted to surpass last year’s accomplishment.”

The No. 2 ranked Falcons capped off a 31-3 season with a win over cross-town rivals, Long Beach City Vikings in the final, 11-6.

On its quest for the state title, Cerritos defeated American River College, 8-4, and came back from a large deficit to defeat the top seeded defending state champion, Riverside College.

Riverside jumped to an early 7-2 lead but Cerritos closed the gap by halftime only trailing 9-7.

The Falcons’ defense held Riverside to only three points in the second half and took a 12-11 lead and secured it late in the game.

In the championship game, both Cerritos and Long Beach looked evenly matched before utility Denise Vega broke a 3-3 tie in the second quarter.

The Falcons offensive attack continued to resulting in a 11-6 victory over the Vikings.

“Not only did we beat our cross-town rivals, we beat the defending state champions and we were able to fight back when we were down against (Riverside),” Macias said.

The Falcons went undefeated in conference play and set a school record of 22 wins in a row.