Men’s Water Polo: LBCC to face Cerritos for SCC title after win over El Camino

Sophomore Dor Apffel (pictured) scored four goals to lead the No. 1-seeded Long Beach City College men's water polo team to an 18-3 rout over No. 4 El Camino College on Friday in the semifinals of the 2012 South Coast Conference Championships at Cerritos College.

In Friday's victory over El Camino, sophomore Tony Frens added three goals, while sophomore Mac Aahkus and freshman Jessie Hernandez both scored twice.

Freshman Akio Saito had an easy time in goal for LBCC and posted three saves.

With the win, the Vikings secured their spot in the SCC men's championship final on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. against crosstown rival and No. 2 seeded Cerritos.

The two squads have met twice this season with the Vikings needed overtime in both contests to defeat the Falcons. LBCC beat Cerritos 14-13 at home in SCC play on September 19 and 13-11 on October 6 at the Riverside tournament.

Long Beach (15-5 overall, 6-0 SCC) will look to win its eighth consecutive SCC championship. Under coaches Chris Oeding and Dave Kasa, the Vikings have won 11 of the last 12 conference titles since 2000.

By qualifying for the conference tournament finals, both Long Beach and Cerritos have earned their places in next week's (Nov. 8-10) Southern California Regional Championships at Fullerton College.

Photo by Chris Ruiz