LA JOLLA, Calif. -Â The 14th-ranked UC San Diego women's water polo team couldn't maintain a halftime lead and was defeated 12-10 by No. 7 Fresno State Sunday.
The seventh-place game was the last contest for both teams at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
For a complete schedule and results of the 16-team, three day tournament, visit the
tournament page.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons led 5-2 after the first quarter and 6-5 at halftime. However, the Bulldogs turned it on in the second half, out-scoring the home team 7-4 the rest of the way
Trailing 7-5 following a
Lucia Doak power play goal a minute into the third quarter, Fresno State tallied four-consecutive goals to take a 9-7 advantage just before heading into the final quarter. Abbey Simshauser's goal at 2:53 of the third gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 8-7 and they stayed in front the rest of the way.
Down 12-8, UC San Diego scored the game's final two goals - another from Doak followed by a strike from
Abigail Schechter - but it wasn't enough to extend play.
Doak and
Kendall Thomas each recorded hat tricks for the Tritons.
Caroline Christl had two goals while
Sydney Munatones joined Schechter with a single goal.
Bria Zwaschka made 12 saves and added a steal as UC San Diego's goalie.
Fresno State got goals from five different players. Brooke Ochoa led all with four while Hailey Andress and Simshauser both had three. Marit van der Kolk and Elisa Grim rounded out the Bulldog scoring.
Three different goaltenders totaled nine saves for Fresno State with Islay Martin-Hill earning the victory.
TRITON TIDBITS
• USC defeated UCLA, 12-10, in Sunday's tournament championship game.
• On the first day of the tournament Friday, UC San Diego defeated seventh-ranked Arizona State 16-15 in sudden victory overtime.
Caroline Christl netted the game winner.
• The game against Arizona State was the first home contest of the season for the Tritons.
• Saturday, the Tritons were defeated by No. 1 UCLA and No. 10 Long Beach State.
• Seven of eight Big West teams were in the field - Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
FINAL TOURNEY STANDINGS
1. USC
2. UCLA
3. Hawai'i
4. UC Irvine
5. Long Beach State
6. UC Davis
7. Fresno State
8. UC San Diego
9. Arizona State
10. UC Santa Barbara
11. Loyola Marymount
12. California Baptist
13. San Diego State
14. Cal State Fullerton
15. Concordia
16. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
UP NEXT
UC San Diego heads to the East Coast to compete at the Harvard Invitational, which runs Feb. 8-9 on the Ivy League campus. The Tritons will face Villanova, Princeton, Harvard, and Long Island University.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
