FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 7 Fresno State water polo team opens Golden Coast Conference play in Fresno against Concordia this Saturday at noon.
No. 7 Fresno State (6-5, 0-0 GCC) vs Concordia (1-7, 0-0 GCC)
Feb. 22, 2025 - 12 P.M. PT - Fresno, Calif. - Aquatics Center
Series History: Fresno State leads, 7-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State def Concordia 14-7 on April 6, 2024
MEDIA COVERAGE
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Bulldog Bones
Fresno State opens conference play on Saturday, hosting Concordia.
Fresno State looks to make a run for its fifth consecutive Golden Coast Conference title in 2025.
Fresno State has won its last five GCC openers. The Bulldogs are 5-2 in GCC openers.
Fresno State remains the highest ranked GCC team in this week's national polls, sitting another week at No. 7.
Four GCC programs are ranked this week – Fresno State (No. 7), LMU (No. 20), San Diego State (No. 20) and Pacific (No. 23).
The Bulldogs lost back-to-back games in the losses to Hawai'i and UC Davis. It was just the second time in the last two seasons that Fresno State has lost consecutive games.
Fresno State has had two Golden Coast Conference Player of the Week honors in the first five weeks of the season as Abbey Simshauser and Brooke Ochoa have earned the honor.
Of the Bulldogs' 11 games this season, just one was against a non-ranked opponent. Saturday's game will be the second-straight contest against an unranked team.
Fresno State has played three overtime games this season, and are 2-1 in those contests. The three overtime games are the most in a single season for Fresno State. The Bulldogs are 7-4 all-time in overtime matchups.
The Bulldogs have scored 10 or more goals in all but one game this season.
GCC Flashback
Fresno State returns as the reigning Golden Coast Champions, for the fourth year in a row. The Bulldogs have been the tournament champion for four-straight years, and the regular season champion in three of the last four years.
In regular season play, Fresno State has only lost two regular season GCC games in the last four years.
Fresno State has an all-time record of 34-9 in Golden Coast Conference play, and is 26-2 in the last four seasons.
The Trio at the Top
Fresno State has been paced all season by the trio of seniors Abbey Simshauser and Brooke Ochoa, and junior Hailey Andress. The three combine for 91 of the Bulldogs' 146 total goals on the year, and are the only players on the roster to be scoring in double figures entering conference play.
Andress, Ochoa and Simshauser are all three in the program's Top 10 for career goals scored.
HEY-YA
Junior Hailey Andress leads the team with 35 goals. She is shooting an even 50 percent with 70 shot attempts on the year. Andress also adds nine assists and nine steals, three field blocks and two drawn exclusions. She has an active streak of 16 games with at least one goal.
Andress record book watch – the junior already has a team-high eight hat tricks on the year to bring her career total to 30, setting the program record for most career hat tricks. She has scored 161 goals in her career, and currently sits fourth all-time in the program record book.Andress currently ranks third in the conference in scoring.
The Aussie
Senior Abbey Simshauser hasn't had the longest Bulldog career, but she has been productive in what she has played. Joining ahead of the 2024 season, Simshauser was a first team All-GCC selection and an honorable mention All-American in her first season as a Bulldog. In year two, she has managed to score 23 goals with nine assists, sitting third on the team. She added 17 drawn exclusions and 11 steals.
In just 40 career games as a Bulldog, Simshauser has scored 95 goals.If she passes the 100-goal mark, she would become the sixth Bulldog all-time to hit the century line. If Simshauser is able to score five goals in the next five games, she would become the fastest player to score 100 goals, passing Andress who did so in 45 games.
The OG
Senior Brooke Ochoa has been a Bulldog her entire career, and has played in 94 career games – the third-most by a player in program history. The senior is second on the team with 33 goals and 10 assists so far this season. She also adds 12 drawn exclusions, and a team-high 12 steals.
Following last weekend's performance, Ochoa moved into second place with 176 career goals as she passed Daphne Guevremont (2019-23). Ochoa is just 19 goals away from tying the program record for career goals, currently held by Emily Nicholson (2018-22).
Added another to the mix
With the graduation of long-time goalkeeper Paula Nieto Jasny, Fresno State was left to fill the void in the cage. The 'Dogs have utilized two keepers for a majority of the season in Ida Tully-Giles and Islay Martin-Hill. Last time out, however, Fresno State saw productive minutes from Abigayle Armstrong in the cage.
Keeping the #3 name
Another void that the Bulldogs had to fill was the graduation of Cynthia Rosa, who wore cap #3 and left as the program's all-time leader in sprints. It didn't take long to find the next sprinter as freshman Marit van der Kolk has stepped in and gone for a 16-3 sprint record so far this season. She is currently second in the GCC in sprint wins, but leads the conference with a .842 win percentage. The true freshman also adds nine goals, four assists, three drawn exclusions, four steals and two field blocks. And, she wears cap #3.