SAN DIEGO - The No. 7 Fresno State water polo team opened the 2025 Triton Invite with a 10-9 overtime win over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara on Friday morning. Fresno State won its second overtime game of the season, and moves on to face No. 5 Hawai'i tomorrow afternoon.
Six different Bulldogs scored on Friday with senior Abbey Simshauser leading the way with three goals. Brooke Ochoa put the game away in overtime, hitting the game winner with 33 seconds remaining in the first overtime. Ochoa finished with two goals on the day. Hailey Andress added two scores while Caitlyn Mossman, Ashley Williams and Kira Anderson each scored one.
Ida Tully-Giles played in goal for the Bulldogs, recording 13 saves and one steal.
How it happened
Fresno State outscored UC Santa Barbara 5-0 in the first quarter, with goals scored by five different players. The Bulldogs extended their lead to open the second, and UCSB got on the board with a goal at the 7:07 mark of the second quarter. UCSB closed out the first half with back-to-back goals as the Bulldogs led 7-3 at halftime.
UCSB opened the third with three-straight scores before the Bulldogs ended their own drought with a goal by Anderson at the 1:51 mark of the third quarter. Fresno State led 8-6 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
Most of the fourth quarter did not have a score, until UCSB hit back-to-back goals to tie the game at eight with 44 seconds remaining in regulation. Andress put the Bulldogs up one with 34 seconds left, but UCSB hit the equalizer once more with just nine seconds on the clock.
With 33 seconds remaining in the first overtime, Ochoa netted her second goal of the game and first since the first quarter, to give the Bulldogs a 10-9 lead at the end of the first overtime period. No team was able to score in the second overtime, and time expired with the Bulldogs ahead by one.
Up Next
Fresno State will face No. 5 Hawai'i tomorrow at 12 p.m. PT. More information and results can be found at the tournament central.
