No. 25 Fresno State falls to Azusa Pacific in nail-biter, 9-8

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State water polo was back at home on Friday afternoon to take on Azusa Pacific. The Bulldogs trailed APU 9-8 with eight seconds remaining. Head coach Natalie Benson called a timeout to set up a play, which resulted in a good look for Trystyn Vuori from the perimeter, but the Cougars goalie Erica Marquez made a nice save to deny the 'Dogs a chance in overtime. The loss drops Fresno State to 0-2 in Golden Coast Conference play.

"We flat out did not come out ready to play today," head coach Natalie Benson said. "We waited until the fourth quarter to play our style of water polo, and it was too little, too late. We made some uncharacteristic mistakes and did not execute the little things that we work on daily in training. Hopefully, this can be a teachable moment for the team."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Azusa Pacific came out in control to open the contest. The Cougars scored the first three goals of the game as they held a 3-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first. Fresno State got on the board thanks to an Emily Nicholson score at the 3:00 mark. APU would counter with another goal at the 2:08 mark before Sydney Coachman and Trystyn Vuori both poured in power-play goals to bring the Bulldogs within one. Azusa Pacific led 4-3 heading into the second period.

The offenses calmed down a bit in the second. Vuori scored her second goal of the game, this one of the 5-meter variety, to tie the game up at 4-4 with 1:16 left in the first half. Nicholson would then tally her second score of the game with 26 seconds remaining to give Fresno State a 5-4 lead. The Cougars' Britni Tisdale countered with a score as the game was tied 5-5 at the break.

The third period was all Azusa Pacific. The Cougars struck for three goals and held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. APU led 8-5 moving into the fourth period.

Emily Nicholson got things started for the 'Dogs in the fourth with her third goal of the match at the 6:18 mark to make it an 8-6 game. But Azusa Pacific had an answer as Britni Tisdale scored her second of the game to once again give the Cougars a 3-goal advantage. Down the stretch, Isabella Magno and Callie Woodruff converted on 5-meter penalty shots to bring Fresno State within one at 9-8. Coming out of a timeout, Trystyn Vuori got a clean shot off with about three seconds left from the perimeter that was saved by APU's Erica Marquez to seal the 9-8 victory for the Cougars.

Emily Nicholson had herself a game. The freshman center tallied a hat trick, three steals and five drawn exclusions. Trystyn Vuori also logged a multi-goal game, finishing with two goals on four shots.

UP NEXT
Fresno State will be back at home to face off against conference foe Santa Clara on March 28 at 4 p.m. PT.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWP
Instagram: fresnostatewp
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics

No. 25 Fresno State falls to Azusa Pacific in nail-biter, 9-8

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sydney Coachman

Isabella Magno

Emily Nicholson

Trystyn Vuori

Callie Woodruff

Fresno State Athletics