The Fresno State water polo team ended Polopalooza with three ranked wins, including an overtime thriller that saw the ‘Dogs and the San Jose State Spartans battle it out until the final buzzer.
Two freshmen, Charli Muñoz and Katelyn Mobley, stepped up in the final game of the tournament to secure a 15-14 victory over the Spartans.
“[Muñoz] has been a spark for us all weekend, whenever we needed something big to happen,” said Head Coach Natalie Benson after the victory over the Spartans. “She doesn’t show up on the stat sheet too often — I’m grateful she did — but a lot of times she’s creating on the counterattack or earning the exclusion that leads to something positive.”
Muñoz ended Polopalooza with three goals and two assists for five total points. Four of the five points came against the Spartans.
In their final game of the tournament, the ‘Dogs and Spartans put on a classic for the fans.
It was back-and-forth the entire game, with the ‘Spartans shutting down the Bulldogs in the second half. The ‘Dogs were shut out in the third period, and while they were able to score in the fourth, the Spartans’ defensive stand in the third was enough to force the game into overtime.
No goals were scored in overtime until the last 54 seconds, when both teams traded goals. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Benson pulled the goalie for an extra attacker.
As time wound down, Kira Anderson fed Megan Cranley, who found Muñoz down low. As the final buzzer sounded, she was able to beat the Spartan goalie and send the Aquatics Center into a frenzy.
“Having a bunch of freshmen in an overtime and running a play that we practiced a couple of times, you never know how they’re going to do it live,” Benson said.
To begin the tournament, the ‘Dogs turned to Mobley to be their goalie. She split time with Islay Martin-Hill through the first two games, but had sole possession of the cage for the final two. The freshman answered the call, recording 37 saves across her four starts.
Of her 37, none were bigger than her last two saves in overtime to keep the Spartans from scoring and give the Bulldogs a shot at squeaking out a victory.
“She’s been nails,” Benson said. “I think she got a little excited and a little … over her skates, but she composed herself and obviously get the stops when we needed it.”
The Bulldogs started Polopalooza with a victory over the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines under the lights and fog on Jan. 16. Prolific goal scorer Hailey Andress started the tournament off with a hat trick against the Wolverines. She finished the tournament with 10 goals and two assists. Four newcomers for the ‘Dogs were able to find the score sheet in the victory.
From there, the ‘Dogs were faced with a double header that they split, losing their first game to the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers 11-10, but rebounding against the No. 8 University of California, Irvine Anteaters 15-12.
The ‘Dogs never led against the Hoosiers and were blanked in the final four minutes.
In the second game, the ‘Dogs opened up an 11-4 advantage on the Anteaters through two periods. Although the Anteaters fought back, it was too much to overcome.
Despite the loss to the Hoosiers, it gives the Bulldogs perspective moving forward this season.
“It’s a good lesson,” Benson said. “I’m glad we had that opportunity and this opportunity, in retrospect, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m glad we took that loss. I think it gets their attention and it keeps them engaged moving into next weekend.”
After their 3-1 Polopalooza run, the Bulldogs will travel to Berkeley to play in the Cal Cup next weekend. Their first matchup will be a rematch against the Spartans before playing the host, the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears, on Jan. 24. The next day, the ‘Dogs will play UCLA and the University of California, Davis Aggies to close out the tournament.
The Bulldogs will return home on Feb. 20 to host the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds before starting Golden Coast Conference play against the Santa Clara Broncos.
