LA JOLLA, Calif. - The No. 5 Fresno State water polo team opened up the Triton Invitational with a 10-7 loss to No. 11 LMU on Friday morning. Both teams were 6-1 overall heading into the Friday matchup.
Cynthia Rosa and Brooke Ochoa tied for the team lead with two goals apiece.
Friday's game between LMU and Fresno State is an early look into Golden Coast Conference play as both teams were picked to finish first and second in the GCC preseason poll this season. Five total GCC programs are competing this week at the Triton Invitational.
How it happened
Susanna Martinez opened the scoring for the Bulldogs within the first 15 seconds of play time, but LMU responded with four in a row to take a 4-1 lead. Ochoa scored her first and LMU responded to make it a 5-2 game in favor of the Lions at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs added just one score in the second by Rosa. Meanwhile, LMU added four of their own to extend the halftime lead to 9-3.
Fresno State settled in some in the second half, but couldn't catch up in the scoring. Limiting LMU to just one goal in the entire second half, Fresno State scored two in the third quarter on shots by Rosa and Ochoa. LMU didn't score in the fourth, and the Bulldogs saw additional goals by Abbey Simshauser and Ochoa.
Up Next
The 'Dogs return to the pool on Saturday morning taking on No. 6 UC Irvine at 10 a.m to wrap up action in Bracket D before facing an opponent to be determined later in the day.
More information can be found at the Triton Invitational Tournament Central.