FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's water polo team split their opening day of the 2024 season after taking down Cal State Monterey Bay in a triple overtime sudden death thriller before falling later that night against the #23 San Diego State Aztecs.Â
Cal State Fullerton 9, CSU Monterey Bay 8 | Triple Overtime
The 2024 Cal State Fullerton Titans women's water polo season started off with a bang after the Titans defeated the Otters in triple overtime (sudden death) at the Titan Aquatics Center.
After Goalkeeper
Annabelle Sherman tied the game twice at the end of regulation and in overtime, the Titans finally got the game winning goal from
Kieran Scout Bates with 1:55 left in the sudden death triple overtime period.
The Titans got 2 goals each from
Annabelle Sherman,
Shyanne Rainey,
Kieran Scout Bates, and got a single goal each from
Mia Solorzano,
Brittney Pino, and
Lacey Hall. Sherman also made nine saves in goal after taking over the cage for the Titans in the second quarter.
The Titans started the game off with Solorzano scoring the first goal of the new season 23 seconds into the season. Â The Otters would get one back before
Shyanne Rainey put the Titans on top 2-1.
The Otters would equalize before the period ended. The Titans and Otters traded two goals a piece in the second period after Hall and
Kieran Scout Bates scored for the Titans to make it a 4-4 game at halftime.
The Titans got the only goal in the third period after
Brittney Pino's effort to take a 3-2 lead into the final quarter. Â
However, CSU Monterey Bay scored three times in the period including the go-ahead goal with 1:56 left in the quarter. Â The Titans ran a play during the final possession and
Annabelle Sherman was able to secure the equalizer just before the final whistle.
In the first overtime, neither side was able to find the back of the net. Â In the second overtime, the Otters went ahead with 16 seconds left on the clock. Â The Titans once again ran an empty net and added Sherman as an attacker and successfully ran the same play to score the equalizer with 1 second left.
In sudden death, Kieran Bates latched onto a fast break ball and was able to loop the ball over the Otters keeper to hand the Titans their first win of the season.
Cal State Fullerton 9, #23 San Diego State 14
The Cal State Fullerton Titans women's water polo team dropped their second game of the day in a 14-9 loss against the #23 San Diego State Aztecs on Friday night at the Titan Aquatics Center.
Destiny Hernandez and
Sydney Brouwer were the only Titans with a multi-goal effort in the nightcap. Â
Madelyn Halva,
Faith Cuevas,
Taylor Mason, Mia Solarzano, and
Delaney Wilder all tallied a goal as well.
Annabelle Sherman made 14 saves in the cage for the Titans.
The Titans conceded first against the Aztecs before immediately tying the score up on a goal by
Madelyn Halva. Â The Aztecs would get one more before
Destiny Hernandez and
Sydney Brouwer scored to make it 3-2. Â
The Aztecs would tie it up at 4:08 before
Taylor Mason put the Titans on top at 4-3 for the final goal of the first quarter.
The Titans took a 5-3 lead after
Destiny Hernandez opened up the second quarter with a goal before the Aztecs scored twice before the end of the period to make it all knotted up at 5-5 at halftime.
The Aztecs outscored the Titans 4-2 in the third quarter with
Faith Cuevas and
Mia Solorzano scoring the goals for the Titans. Â
The Aztecs led 9-7 heading into the final period of play. Any chance at a Titan comeback was put to bed early in the fourth quarter as the Aztecs scored three goals to open up the period and to take a 12-7 lead. Â
Delaney Wilder scored a penalty shot and
Sydney Brouwer added a late goal for the Titans before the final whistle blew.
The Titans will take on Cal State Monterey Bay again tomorrow in their first game of the day at 10 AM before taking on the #1 USC Trojans at 2 PM in their final game of the opening weekend.
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