Fresno State advances to semifinals

Friday, April 22

Riverside, CA

4 PM PT

Fresno State

California Baptist University

Fresno State advances to semifinals

4/22/2022 6:51:00 PM | Water Polo

Postgame Interview Box Score (PDF)

By: Taylor Martinez / Strategic Communications

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Top-seeded Fresno State defeated No. 8 Cal Baptist 14-8 in the quarterfinals of the Golden Coast Championship Tournament, on Friday afternoon at the Lancer Aquatics Center.

Freshman Fanni Muzsnay led the Bulldogs on offense with four goals. Additional goal scorers included Daphne Guevremont (2), Jillian Schultz (2), Emily Nicholson (1), Savannah Fitzgerald (1), Emily Diacono (1), Sienna Jagielski (1) Brooke Ochoa (1) and Shelby Vidmar (1).

Redshirt freshman Paula Nieto Jasny played a majority of the game as goalkeeper for Fresno State. She logged eight saves in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Muzsnay scored the first goal of the game to spark a 3-0 run for the 'Dogs, forcing the Lancers to call a timeout. CBU netted its first goal out of the timeout after being held scoreless by Fresno State's defense for nearly four minutes. Muzsnay responded with another goal, but the Lancers would tally back-to-back goals to make it a one-score game. Ochoa fed the ball to Muzsnay and she capitalized on the opportunity for her third goal of the afternoon. Ochoa went back to work on offense, finding the back of the net with four seconds left in the opening quarter.

Fresno State took a 6-3 lead into the second quarter. The 'Dogs scored four consecutive goals to start the quarter, making it six straight, to take a 10-3 lead over the Lancers. CBU ended the run by scoring with 2:22 left. Fresno State brought a 10-3 advantage into halftime.

It was a defensive battle to start the third quarter as neither team was able to score through the first five minutes, until Vidmar found Diacono cutting to the cage for another Bulldog goal. The teams exchanged goals and Fresno State took a 12-5 lead into the final eight minutes.

Nicholson sent the ball to the back of the net to start the fourth. CBU answered with three consecutive goals to cut Fresno State's lead to five. Nieto Jasny made a big save to stop the Lancer's run, and Muzsnay took the ball the other way to score the final goal of the game.

The Bulldogs defeated the Lancers 14-8 to advance to the semifinals. No. 1 Fresno State will face No. 4 San Diego State tomorrow at 4 p.m. PT.

Quotes:
Head Coach Natalie Benson
"We came out strong. We had some good stops on defense, and we were able to get some goals up on the scoreboard early. These tournament games are tough, because everyone has their eyes on the prize."

"I'm glad we were able to get everyone in the water. It was truly a team win. We were able to give some players some rest and give others some additional time in the pool. We didn't have grind certain players down like some of our peers may have had to in their quarterfinal games, so that's always a good thing."

"Fanni is a ruthless competitor. She wants to win. She wants the ball in her hand. She makes things happen. She prepares really well, she believes in herself and that shows in the way she plays the game."

Game Notes:

Fresno State has won 13 games straight games.
Fresno State is now 3-1 all-time in GCC quarterfinals.
Fresno State advances to the GCC semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Fresno State faced SDSU in the semifinal in 2021.
Fanni Muzsnay is the first Bulldog to score 60 goals in a season.
Muzsnay recorded a hat trick for the second consecutive game.
Muzsnay has recorded 11 hat tricks this season.

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