LOS ANGELES – The chase for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament concluded Saturday for the No. 21 Pacific women's water polo program as No. 8 Fresno State was able to grab a 19-12 decision in the semifinals of the Golden Coast Conference Tournament at the Burns Aquatics Center on the campus of LMU.
 
Pacific (13-10, 5-2 GCC) will conclude the season Sunday at 11 a.m. in the third-place game.
 
The third-seeded Tigers started slow and conceded the first four goals of the game to the second-seeded Bulldogs (14-7, 6-1 GCC) when they came storming back in the third quarter. Pacific cut it to a one-goal deficit three times in the third, but Fresno State was able to deny the equalizer and answered with a run to pull away.
 
Pacific's offense was led by senior Hila Futorian and junior Dora Alaksza who netted four goals apiece. Futorian was an All-Conference Second-Team selection, while Alaksza earned a spot on the First-Team.
 
Alaksza is up to 239 career goals and ranks third all-time in Pacific history in scoring. She's chasing Molly Smith's program-leading tally of 286 goals from 1997-00 and Jessica Schroeder who is second with 268 goals from 2001-05.
 
Sophomore Alicia Petkov recorded two goals for Pacific. Senior Addison McGowan, an All-Conference Honorable Mention, found the back of the net once and distributed two assists. Sophomore Lily Van Putten also notched a goal in the fourth quarter.
 
In net, sophomore goalkeeper Maja Lizy Dulic blocked eight saves to go along with three steals and an assist. Dulic, an All-Conference Honorable Mention, is up to 391 career saves in two seasons which ranks eighth in Pacific history.
 
Pacific trailed 4-0 when Futorian scored twice to trim it to 4-3 with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.  The Tigers were behind 7-5 at half despite a goal from Petkov with 59 seconds remaining.
 
Pacific cut it to 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8 in the third after goals by McGowan, Petkov and Alaksza, but the Bulldogs went on a 4-0 spurt to create a 13-8 edge with 40 seconds left in the quarter. Fresno State pulled away in the fourth quarter.
 
The Tigers will face either top-seeded LMU or fourth-seeded San Diego State in the third-place game.

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