LA JOLLA, Calif. — For the second weekend in a row, the No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Women's Water Polo team (5-2, 0-0 Big West) had a higher-ranked opponent on the ropes, this time overcoming a slow start to take No. 7 Fresno State (4-3, 0-0 GCC) to overtime. Though the Gauchos did ultimately fall, 10-9, to the Bulldogs, it was an effort that the Blue and Gold can be proud of. Three Gauchos — Annie Kuester, Isabel Valaika and Aidan Flynn — scored a team-high two goals each in the match. Madison Walker kept up her great form from last weekend, making 11 saves in goal.
 
FROM INTERIM HEAD COACH EMMA MYALL
"We struggled with the start of the game," Myall said. "Early morning games have been tough but we adjusted quick in the second quarter and we beat Fresno, nine to five, the rest of the game. We hustled and played with heart; I love it when I see them celebrate each other!"
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was hardly the start that Santa Barbara wanted on Friday, as the Gauchos were held scoreless in the first quarter and trailed, 5-0, after the opening period.
 
Things changed in the second quarter, when the Gauchos fired up their offense to the tune of three goals. Kuester got Santa Barbara on the board first, and after Fresno re-extended their lead to 7-1 with two more goals, scores from Valaika and Bella Mady swung the momentum back to the Gauchos. At halftime, Santa Barbara had chipped into the deficit, down just 7-3.
 
Hadde Hall scored the first goal out of halftime, then Jojo Scheer and Valaika scored to pull the Gauchos within one, down 7-6. Fresno had their lead back up to 8-6 by the start of the fourth quarter, but goals from Kuester and Flynn tied things up at 8-8 with just 44 seconds left to play. It looked for a second to be a repeat of Santa Barbara's last-second defeat at Indiana from last weekend when the Bulldogs drew and converted a five-meter penalty shot with just 34 seconds left, but the Gauchos had some last-minute magic left. Flynn scored her second goal of the day with just nine seconds in regulation to force overtime.
 
Walker came up huge for the Gauchos in the extra period, saving a five-meter penalty shot to keep the score tied at 9-9, but Fresno would eventually find the decisive breakthrough and win, 10-9.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara is back in action on Saturday morning, facing the loser of No. 5 Hawai'i vs. Cal State Fullerton at 9:20 a.m. from Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla. No live stream or live stats are available for the match; score updates will be provided on the team's social media accounts and ucsbgauchos.com when available.