IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 8 Fresno State water polo team got itself back in the win column, defeating Concordia 14-7 at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve to 15-7 overall and 3-1 in Golden Coast Conference play.
Hailey Andress led the team scoring four goals. Brooke Ochoa scored three and Abbey Simshauser and Caitlyn Mossman added two each. Elisa Grim, Kaitlin Howarth and Ashley Williams each added one to the tallies.
Defensively, Andress and Cynthia Rosa contributed with three steals apiece while Simshauser tallied four drawn exclusions. Ida Tully-Giles played all 32 minutes in goal, recording six saves.
How it happened
Williams scored first on a powerplay opportunity in the first 15 seconds of play. CUI tied the game at one a minute later, and took the lead with 4:25 left in the first. At the 3:10 mark, Grim would tie the game at two but CUI would end the quarter with a 3-2 lead.
The teams traded possessions to start the second, but Andress struck first to tie the game again - this time at three. With two minutes passing by before a goal, CUI took advantage of a Bulldog player being excluded to take their third lead of the game with 4:10 left, 4-3. The Bulldogs attacked heavily to end the quarter, scoring three goals in the final 90 seconds of play. Simshauser got the rally started, then Mossman added another with Andress scoring the third in the series on a powerplay chance.
At the half, Fresno State managed to lead 6-4. The Bulldogs never looked back.
CUI opened up scoring in the third, but it didn't take long before Ochoa found an answer. At the 5:05 mark, Ochoa found herself capitalizing again on a CUI exclusion to put the 'Dogs up 8-5. Mossman knocked one in from center at the 2:06 mark to close out scoring in the quarter. Fresno State held CUI to just one goal in the third, extending its lead to 9-5 with eight minutes to play.
Fresno State used five goals in the fourth quarter to close out the game, not letting up until the final buzzer. Howarth scored first for the 'Dogs at the 6:15 mark, then CUI responded with two in-a-row before the 'Dogs hit four-straight to silence. Ochoa first hit on another powerplay opportunity, then it was Simshauser who scored on a five-meter penalty to put the 'Dogs up 12-7 with 4:17 left on the clock. Andress scored two more in the final 3:30, and the Bulldogs' defense was able to keep CUI off the board to close out the game.
Notable
Fresno State scored on 7-of-11 powerplay opportunities, its most of the season.
Fresno State won its second game of the season when trailing after the first, moving to 2-4.
Fresno State remains undefeated in the series with Concordia, improving to 7-0 all-time.
Fresno State allowed less than 10 goals to its opponent for the 15th time this season. The Bulldogs are 13-2 when allowing 9 or fewer goals.
Fresno State improves to 13-0 when scoring 10 or more goals.
Hailey Andress led the team in scoring for the 12th time this season.
Cynthia Rosa was 4-0 in sprints on Saturday.
Caitlyn Mossman scored her first goals since Feb. 17.
Freshman Ida Tully-Giles earned her third start of the season, and played her first complete game in goal.
Tully-Giles tied her season-high with six saves.
Up Next
GCC play continues next weekend as the 'Dogs travel to Azusa Pacific on Friday, April 12. Game action begins at 3 p.m. PT.
Fresno State returns home for a final weekend on April 19 and 20, hosting Pacific and Santa Clara, respectively.