FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 3 Fresno State water polo team set a new single game program record, defeating Whittier College 27-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Aquatics Center. Just a day ago, the Bulldogs tied the program record that stood since 2019 with 23 goals against FPU. The Bulldogs turned around to score 27 on Saturday for the new record.
The Bulldogs improve to 10-3 overall on the season.
For the second day in a row, Fresno State had 12 goal-scorers in the win. The 'Dogs were led by Robyn Greenslade with five goals on five shots. Kira Anderson, Susanna Martinez and Abbey Simshauser contributed with three goals apiece. Hailey Andress (2), Ella Simone (2), Caitlyn Mossman (2), Ashley Williams (2), Sidney Strickland (2), Cynthia Rosa (1), Brooke Ochoa (1) and Megan Cranley (1) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Junior Kelly Villanueva got the start in the cage on Saturday, finishing with two saves and allowing just one goal. Freshman Ida Tully-Giles entered in after the halftime break, recording three saves and a steal in 16 minutes. Senior Paula Nieto Jasny switched roles on Saturday, getting in as a position player and finishing with one assist and a sprint win.
How it happened
The Bulldogs opened with six unanswered goals in the first five minutes of play. Ashley Williams opened scoring 11 seconds in, and Cynthia Rosa scored another just 20 seconds later. Hailey Andress scored her first at the 6:07 mark and Ella Simone scored with 4:47 left in the first quarter. Megan Cranley scored to make it 5-0 at the 3:42 mark, forcing a Whittier timeout. Simone attacked again, scoring her second with 4:47 left in the first quarter. Whittier scored with 2:42 on the clock, but the 'Dogs closed out the quarter with three in-a-row from Robyn Greenslade, Sidney Strickland and Greenslade again.
After a 9-1 lead into the second quarter, Kira Anderson fired first in the second to make it 10-1 in favor of the 'Dogs. Whittier did not score in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs found the back of the net on eight shot attempts. Following Anderson's score, the Bulldogs added goals by Caitlyn Mossman, Abbey Simshauser, Greenslade, Strickland, Susanna Martinez (2) and another by Anderson to extend the lead to 17-1 at halftime.
Simshauser opened the scoring in the third, at the 6:21 mark. She followed up with another goal less than a minute later. Whittier scored on a powerplay opportunity at the 4:05 mark to end the scoring drought. Mossman scored with 2:18 left to round out the attack in the third quarter for a 20-2 game heading into the fourth.
Six goals for the Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter credited to Andress, Ochoa, Martinex, Greenslade (2) and Williams. Whittier scored their third and final goal with 2:10 remaining, and Anderson closed out the game with her third goal of the night with 49 seconds left in the game to cement the record-breaking 27th goal.
Notable
Fresno State won its first-ever game against Whittier College.
Fresno State won its sixth home game of the season, remaining undefeated at home in 2024.
Fresno State has won 12-straight home games, dating back to January 22, 2023.
Fresno State set a new program record with 27 goals scored against the Poets.
Fresno State set a new best for margin of victory with a 24-goal differential on Saturday.
Fresno State held Whittier to zero goals in the second quarter. It was the sixth time this season that the Bulldogs held an opponent scoreless in a quarter.
Fresno State moves to 8-1 this season when allowing nine or fewer goals.
Fresno State scored 20+ goals in a game for the ninth time in program history.
Fresno State shot .692 percent on Saturday, its highest shooting percentage of the season.
Robyn Greenslade scored for a season-high five goals, leading the team in the statistical category for the first time this season.
Susanna Martinez had a career-high three goals. It was the first multi-goal game of her career.
Kira Anderson had a career-high three goals. She had her first career multi-goal games in back-to-back contests with two on Friday and three Saturday.
Anderson also added four assists in the win, tying for the fourth-most in a game in program history.
Ella Simone had a career-high four steals.
Kelly Villanueva got her first start of the season.
Up Next
The Bulldogs head south to wrap up nonconference play at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, hosted by UC Irvine on Feb. 23-25. Fresno State plays in Group C and will open the tournament up against Biola on Friday, Feb. 23.
Bracket and tournament information, and ticket information, can be found on the tournament central website.