STOCKTON, Calif. – The No. 11 Pacific women's water polo team (1-0) kicked off the 2020 regular season in style with a thrilling 13-12 win over Sonoma State (0-3) on Wednesday afternoon at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.
 
After winning both the GCC regular season title and postseason tournament in 2019, UOP continued their winning ways with eight different Tigers finding the back of the net during the match.
 
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Pacific outshot the Seawolves overall, 30-29.
• The Tigers started out with the ball in three of the four periods, winning the sprint in the first, third and fourth periods.
• Savannah Fitzgerald, who netted 36 goals for UOP last season, began her junior campaign with a four-goal effort, including a hat-trick in the first period alone.

 
FIRST PERIOD:

• Just sixteen seconds into play, Fitzgerald scored the first goal of the year for the Tigers to give Pacific an early 1-0 lead.
• Despite a goal from the Seawolves, junior Natalie Hosmer found the back of the cage for the first time in the Orange and Black at the 4:18 mark as UOP regained the lead, 2-1.
• Following two more goals from Fitzgerald and sophomore Lucy Davis' first of the afternoon, Pacific was ahead of Sonoma State at the end of the opening frame, 5-3.

 
SECOND PERIOD:

• Continuing their momentum, sophomore Brianna Utas netted her lone goal of the contest at 5:42, pushing the Tiger lead to 6-2.
• Playing together as a team, Davis and Fitzgerald would assist on back-to-back goals from sophomore Ana Martinez do Amaral and Toula Falvey as Pacific doubled up the Seawolves, 8-4, with less than four minutes remaining in the half.
• Heading into the locker room, UOP held a commanding 9-4 lead over Sonoma State.

 
THIRD PERIOD:

• Attempting to widen the gap, Fitzgerald found the back of the cage for the fourth time at the 7:16 mark, making the score 10-4 in favor of the Tigers.
• With both teams trading goals throughout the rest of the period, junior Kamryn Lucero netted her first goal of the season at 5:48 while Falvey recorded her second of the afternoon on an assist from junior Brooke Contreras at 2:53.
• Looking to close out the Seawolves, Pacific headed into the final frame leading Sonoma State, 12-9.

 
FOURTH PERIOD: 

• Despite two goals from Sonoma State to open the period, Davis countered with her second goal of the day on an assist from do Amaral at the 2:34 mark.
• Although the Seawolves would respond with two more goals, the Tigers locked down on defense the rest of the match, securing their first victory of the season by a final score of 13-12. 

WHAT COACH GRAHAM SAID:
 
On a total team effort:  "We are missing five top players from our team, but it's an opportunity for a lot of players to showcase what they can do, what they are capable of and if they can take on larger roles in the future. It is much different being a role player than having to be a star player, so we are going to see how our players are going to react to their new roles. It's the first game…we got the win, but we have to make some adjustments before we head off to Michigan for some tough games."
 
On role players stepping up: "All of the girls who played well today will be critical for us moving forward. I like seeing them score. The offense was decent today, but there were some good opportunities that we have to get better at capitalizing on, especially the powerplay."
 
UP NEXT: The Tigers will hit the road this weekend when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take place in a tournament hosted by the University of Michigan. Pacific will face No. 5 UCLA and No. 24 Marist on Saturday, Jan. 25 before wrapping up play on Sunday, Jan. 26 with matchups against the No. 7 Wolverines and Indiana.
FOLLOW US: For more information and updates on the Pacific women's water polo team, please follow the team on Twitter (@Pacific_WWP), Instagram (@pacificwaterpolo) and Facebook (@pacificwomenswaterpolo).