George Washington University
Fresno Pacific
#19 Water Polo Goes 1-3 on West Coast Road Trip
10/22/2022 8:13:00 PM | Water Polo
Colonials take down Fresno Pacific, but fall to challenging California competition
CALIFORNIA - #19 GW water polo (17-5, 6-1) wrapped up a four-game road trip, going 1-3 over a difficult three-day stretch in California. The trip the started with 23-11 takedown of Fresno Pacific, but was followed by losses to #15 San Jose State, #16 California Baptist and #2 Cal.
#19 GW 23, Fresno Pacific 11:
GW kicked off the road trip on a high note, taking down Fresno Pacific, 23-11. GW held a 6-4 lead after one quarter, and a Luca Castorina penalty shot save and timely goals propelled GW to a 13-7 advantage at the half. GW kept things steady in the third quarter, answering each of the Sunbird's goals with one of its own. The Colonials wrapped up the game with a 8-1 dominant fourth quarter.
#15 San Jose State 10, #19 GW 9:
San Jose State jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, but the Colonials recovered well as they outscored the Spartans 4-1 in the second quarter. Both defenses tightened up coming out of halftime resulting in each team only scoring once in the third quarter. Castorina played a key role in keeping the game tight, doubling his first half saves in just the third quarter. With just 20 seconds remaining, GW found itself down a goal but with possession. Castorina, who was pulled from the net, ended up taking the final shot, but it was blocked before reaching the Spartan net.
#16 California Baptist 13, #19 GW 12:
GW fell behind early to California Baptist, trailing 7-2 after the first quarter, but the Colonials recovered well in the second quarter and cut the lead down to just two at halftime. GW remained down two goals in the third quarter but evened the game up early in the fourth. With the game tied in the final 30 seconds, the Lancers drew an exclusion and scored the eventual game-winning goal with just eight seconds remaining. GW had the final look, but Nick Schroeder's shot rang off the crossbar.
#2 Cal 24, #19 GW 10:
GW matched goals with Cal early, but the Colonials fell behind in the second quarter and weren't able to recover. The Golden Bears showed why they are the second-highest ranked team in the country, scoring seven goals in both the second and third quarters which put the game out of reach.
Up Next: GW returns to MAWPC action to face Navy and Johns Hopkins on Saturday, October 29. The Buff and Blue will start the day in Annapolis, Md. before finishing the day in Baltimore.
