LOS ANGELES - Fresno State senior utility Brooke Ochoa has been named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced on Thursday. Despite her already decorated career, this is the first conference weekly honor for Ochoa.
Ochoa scored a team-high 12 goals in three games against top 10 opponents in last weekend's Cal Cup to earn GCC Player of the Week honors for Jan. 30. The senior averaged four goals per game but had a season-high five goals against No. 1 UCLA on Sunday. Ochoa also added two steals, one assist, one drawn exclusion, and one field block on the weekend. She was the team's leading scorer in all three games last weekend and included an overtime win against No. 8 Long Beach State (15-14).
Fresno State opened the weekend with an overtime win over No. 8 Long Beach State. It was the second consecutive OT win in the series for the Bulldogs. Fresno State then battled a pair of top-four teams, falling to No. 4 Cal and No. 1 UCLA to end the weekend. Fresno State, however, scored 14 goals against the No. 1 team in UCLA. It was its most goals scored against the nation's top-ranked team in program history. With the OT win, the Bulldogs moved to No. 7 in this week's national poll.
This weekend, the Bulldogs are one of five GCC teams that trek to the Triton Invite in La Jolla, Calif. The Bulldogs moved up to No. 7 in the national polls this week, and again are the highest GCC team ranked in the national polls. Fresno State opens the bracketed tournament with an 8 a.m. matchup against UC Santa Barbara tomorrow morning. More information on the Triton Invite can be found on the tournament central.