Bulldogs' offense dismantle Sunbirds on final day of Fresno State Invite

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State water polo team scored a season-high 21 goals in its 21-5 win over Fresno Pacific to close out the Fresno State Invite on Sunday afternoon at the Aquatics Center. The Bulldogs were an offensive powerhouse over the weekend finishing with three wins.

The 'Dogs improve to 8-7 (1-0 GCC) on the season, and 4-0 at home.

Fresno State continued its balanced offensive efforts with 10 goal-scorers in the win. Kaitlin Howarth led the Bulldogs with a career-high of six goals on seven attempts. Callie Woodruff and Megan Greenwood both recorded hat tricks. Sienna Jagielski and Erin McBride contributed two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Paula Nieto Jasny grabbed 10 saves for the Bulldogs.

How it Happened
The Bulldogs opened scoring with back-to-back goals, the first by Nicholson, and then Jagielski with 4:41 left in the first quarter. The 'Dogs went on a 5-0 run, with Woodruff and Howarth netting two goals apiece while Greenwood tallied one goal to put the Bulldogs up 7-0. Fresno State's defense kept the Sunbirds out of the goal for the first eight minutes.

Fresno State carried the offensive momentum into the second quarter, scoring three unanswered goals to extend its lead 10-0. The Sunbirds eventually halted Fresno State's impressive run to score their first goal of the game with 2:10 left in the second quarter. Cynthia Rosa then found the back of the net to give the 'Dogs an 11-1 advantage. Fresno Pacific executed a play out of a timeout to net a goal against the 'Dogs to cut their deficit back to single-digits. Howarth answered back, converting a penalty shot with 0:01 seconds left. The Bulldogs took a 12-2 lead into the half.

The 'Dogs and Sunbirds exchanged goals at the start of the third quarter. Jagielski found McBride who netted a goal for the Bulldogs, but the Sunbirds swiftly responded with a goal of their own with 3:24 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs spurred a 4-0 run in the last three minutes of the quarter to take an 18-4 lead.

Fresno Pacific struck first in the final quarter to net their final goal of the game. Greenwood found the back of the net off an assist by Daphne Guevremont. Howarth followed with back-to-back goals to finish the game. Fresno State took the win 21-5.

SCORING SUMMARY
Fresno State: 7-5-6-3 | 21
Fresno Pacific: 0-2-2-1 | 5
Fresno State goals: Howarth 6, Woodruff 3, Greenwood 3, Jagielski 2, McBride 2, Nicholson, Loggins, Sonkoly, Rosa, Preciado

Quotes
Natalie Benson, Fresno State Head Coach
On the weekend....
"It's always great to win three games, especially at home and for us to get a lot of minutes for everybody on the roster. It's great to come out of the weekend with three victories, especially one for conference play. I'm happy with what we saw this weekend, we saw effort for four quarters, a lot of people contributing, and some people improve upon some things they needed to work on. It was a good weekend for us."

What's next
Fresno State will have several weeks off before traveling to compete against Cal Baptist at Riverside, Calif. on March 27.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit www.bulldogfoundation.org.

Bulldogs' offense dismantle Sunbirds on final day of Fresno State Invite

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Players Mentioned

Megan Greenwood

Daphne Guevremont

Kaitlin Howarth

Sienna Jagielski

Erin McBride

Paula Nieto Jasny

Cynthia Rosa

Callie Woodruff

Fresno State Athletics