SAN DIEGO - Fresno State water polo won its third-straight Golden Coast Conference Tournament title following a defensive battle against Pacific, defeating the Tigers 5-3 on Sunday at the Aztec Aquaplex.
The Bulldogs (18-8, 7-0 GCC) punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship for the third season in a row.
"I haven't really processed it yet," said head coach Natalie Benson on winning three-straight GCC Tournament titles. "Obviously every year, you come out with a mission to want to win. I thought this team had it in them, just with the way that they play together. You never know how the games are going to go and how they are going to respond. If you would have drawn this up at the beginning of the year, it is like everything would have just had to fall into place. They answered the call for us. It is a testament to these women. They came everyday and they trained really hard. They played together, and embraced the fact that no one person was going to do everything for our team. They knew that they had to work together and they had to trust each other in this success. I am excited for this group, three-peat aside."
Sophomore Brooke Ochoa was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, adding to her previous honor of GCC Player of the Year. Joining Ochoa on the All-GCC Tournament team were center Jillian Schultz and attacker Hailey Andress.
In Sunday's matchup, defense proved to be the difference maker for the 'Dogs. In goal, Paula Nieto Jasny notched seven huge saves and added one steal in the game. Ochoa totaled six of Fresno State's 12 steals.
Schultz led the team in scoring with two goals. Andress, Daphne Guevremont and Kaitlin Howarth added one goal each.
How it happened
Schultz took advantage of an early power play moment, and put Fresno State on the board with 5:27 left in the first quarter. Pacific evened the score with 2:53 left in the first quarter. The first eight minutes ended in a 1-1 tie.
Guevremont dished one in at the 7:36 mark for the only goal by either team in the second quarter. Fresno State carried a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.
Fresno State had back-to-back goals in just under 30 seconds beginning at the 4:02 mark. Howarth and Schultz would put Fresno State ahead 4-1. Pacific scored two more goals at the end of the third quarter to again make it a one-goal game heading into the final period.
Andress scored the only goal of the quarter at the 2:42 mark of the fourth, securing the 5-3 win for the Bulldogs.
Up Next
Fresno State will await its opponent for the 2023 NCAA Championship as the water polo selection show is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1.
Notable
Fresno State won the lowest scoring championship game in GCC Tournament history.
The Bulldogs defended their regular season and tournament title for the third-straight year.
The tournament MVP is a Bulldog for the third year in a row - Brooke Ochoa (2023), Paula Nieto Jasny (2022), and Claire Schade (2021).
Ochoa totaled five goals, two assists and six steals in the tournament.