Natalie Golda

Natalie Golda (now Benson, born December 28, 1981) is a former American water polo player who competed for the University of California Los Angeles, and was a member of the US Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She coached women's water polo at Marist College from 2013 to 2016, and was hired to coach at Fresno State College's initial women's water polo program beginning in 2018, where she has continued at least through the 2026 season. In 2015, she was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Early life She was born in Lakewood, California on December 28, 1981. Golda played varsity water polo for all four years at Rosary High School in Fullerton, California under head coach Todd Sprague. Her team won the California Interscholastic Federation title in 1998 and 1999, and she was named First-Team All-Golden West League from 1996 to 1999. A multi-sport athlete in High School, she lettered in softball for four years and volleyball for two.

UCLA

Playing both defender and center forward positions, Golda won three NCAA championships with UCLA in 2001, 2003, 2005, where she was coached primarily under coach Adam Krikorian. As a freshman in 2001, she helped the Bruins win the first women's water polo title recognized by the NCAA. In 2002, she earned Honorable Mention All-American honors and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament First-Team and All-MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Tournament Second Team. In 2003, Golda was named a first team All-American, first team All-MPSF, first team All-NCAA and All-MPSF Tournaments. She also led UCLA with 50 goals.

In her Senior year at UCLA, Golda was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship after leading her team to a 3–2 victory over Stanford in the title game. Golda scored the first goal of the contest in the championship game and then led a defensive effort that held the Cardinal to just two goals, including none in the first half. In the last 30 seconds of the game, the Bruin defense held off a 6-on-5 advantage to preserve the 3–2 win. Golda had four goals in the three tournament games. An outstanding collegiate player, she helped guide the 2005 UCLA Bruins to their seventh national championship. In May 2005 Golda received the Peter J. Cutino Award, given annually to the outstanding player in women's collegiate water polo.

UCLA Scoring by year

2004, 2008 Olympic medals Golda was part of the U.S. Women's Water Polo Team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Olympic play, she was coached by U.S. Women's Head Coach Guy Baker, who had also coached her at UCLA. In 2004, Golda redshirted to play in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. She scored two goals at the Athens Games, one against Hungary and another against Australia and helped the team win a bronze medal.

Honors She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 and is a member of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. During her tenure at the Huntington Beach Club, she coached future 2020 Tokyo water polo gold medalist Alys Williams Moore.

Marist College In August 2013, she accepted the women's coaching position at Division I Marist College in New York. She has since guided the Red Foxes to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Water polo regular season championships in 2015, and second-place finishes in the MAAC Conference Championships. Golda was named Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year in 2014, and has had five players named All-MAAC First team, six on All-MAAC Second Team, One MAAC Rookie of the Year and 10 All-MAAC Academic Team Honors over the course of two seasons. From 2018 to 2025, she led the Fresno State Bulldogs to an overall record of 114–79, and four Golden Coast Conference championship titles in four-straight years from 2021 to 2024.

Personal Currently resides in Fresno, California, with her husband Eric Benson and her two daughters. Hobbies include writing, listening to music Favorite quote: "Life is too important to be taken seriously." – Oscar Wilde