SAN DIEGO - The No. 9 Fresno State water polo team bounced back in Golden Coast Conference action with a 15-9 win at No. 20 San Diego State on Saturday afternoon. Fresno State improves to 10-7 overall and 4-1 in GCC play.
Fresno State saw a balanced scoring attack with Hailey Andress leading the way with three goals. Brooke Ochoa, Abbey Simshauser, Elisa Grim, Caitlyn Mossman and Ashley Williams each scored two goals apiece. Megan Cranley and Ella Simone contributed one each to round out the scoring.
Ida Tully-Giles had eight saves in goal.
How it happened
It took four minutes before either team could score as the first goal of the game came across by Simshauser at the four minute mark. The Aztecs responded with back-to-back goals, but Andress scored her first goal of the game with just over a minute left in the first quarter. The score was tied at two heading into the second quarter.
SDSU opened scoring in the second, but Andress and Williams scored to counter and take back the lead with 6:34 remaining before halftime. Mossman extended the lead to two, marking the first time either team led by more than one goal in the game. The lead was short lived as the Aztecs answered with two in-a-row to tie the game at five. With 18 seconds left on the clock, Grim scored her first to give Fresno State a 6-5 lead headed into halftime.
Fresno State saw a big third quarter, outscoring San Diego State 4-1 in the period. Although mostly scoreless, SDSU scored the first goal of the quarter with just under four minutes remaining. The Bulldogs closed the quarter with four unanswered goals as Ochoa capped things off with a goal at the 15 second mark.
With a 10-6 lead going into the final quarter, Williams netted the first goal of the quarter and the Aztecs ended Fresno State's five-goal streak with a goal at the 6:49 mark. Grim and Ochoa scored back-to-back, and the Aztecs tacked one on in a power play chance. Still working in center, Mossman scored another to extend Fresno State's lead to 14-8 with 3:12 left. SDSU added one more goal, but Simone responded with her first of the game in Fresno State's final possession. Tully-Giles came up big with two saves on the Aztecs' final possession, keeping them off the board as the final buzzer rang.
Up Next
Fresno State is off next week, and returns to the Fresno State Aquatics Center on April 12 for Senior Day against Azusa Pacific. The 'Dogs close out the regular season at Pacific on April 17. The GCC tournament is set for April 25-27, hosted this year by LMU.