GLENDORA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific water polo was defeated 19-7 by No. 8 ranked Fresno State this afternoon in Golden Coast Conference action. The Cougars are now 7-14 overall and 1-4 in conference action going into their final home game of the season tomorrow versus Cal Baptist.
Milena Guzmán Ortiz tallied another hat trick and recorded a pair of assists in the loss, she now has 11 hat tricks in the 21 games played so far this season.
How it Happened: The game got off to a slow offensive start through the first three minutes of the game, but the Bulldogs scored three unanswered in a minute's time to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Cougars fought back with a goal right after Fresno State's third, with a Guzmán Ortiz goal to make it 3-1 with 3:09 left in the first period. But, once again the Bulldogs scored three unanswered to take a 6-1 lead after the first quarter.
After another Fresno State goal, Guzmán Ortiz scored her second on the power play to make it 7-2. Three more consecutive goals grew the Bulldogs advantage to eight. The Cougars and Bulldogs would trade goals in the final minutes of the half with
Shyanne Rainey and
Montana White each scoring to make it 12-4 at the half.
Trailing 13-4 in the third period,
Grace Pugh and
Skylar Ford scored the only consecutive goals the Cougars had in the game to make it 13-6 before Fresno State would score six of the final seven goals of the game. Guzmán Ortiz tallied her third goal of the game in the fourth as the lone goal scorer for the Cougars in the period as they lost 19-7.
By the Numbers: Both teams tallied 36 shots in the game and the Cougars had 11 steals to nine for Fresno State. The Bulldogs however converted three of the six power plays and tallied 33 points on their 19 goals.
Up Next: The Cougars will be back at home Saturday, April 9th (tomorrow) at the Citrus Aquatic Center and will face California Baptist. Please arrive early as Azusa Pacific will honor seven seniors who will play their final home game. The game is set to start at 1:00 p.m. with the Senior Day festivities to take place around 12:50 p.m.
