Sept. 15, 2006

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Sophomore forward Quincy Amarikwa scored two first-half goals then senior goalkeeper Charles Warne posted five saves after the break to protect UC Davis' 4-0 shutout of Cal State Fullerton in non-conference men's collegiate soccer action at Aggie Soccer Stadium Friday afternoon.

The Aggies improve to 3-4-0 on the season. The Titans drop to 2-3-1 overall.

Redshirt freshman Paul Marcoux drew first blood against CSF in the sixth minute, collecting a pass in transition from midfielder Nicholas Lind. He sent the ball hard into the lower left corner of the Titan net for the match's first goal. That score redeemed a previous opportunity for Marcoux, when Amarikwa set him up for a 1-v-1 chance against CSF goalkeeper Brent Douglas. However, Marcoux's first effort had rolled wide right of the cage.

Amarikwa doubled the UC Davis lead almost exactly five minutes later, recoring a loose ball high in the penalty box and sending another low blast into the Fullerton cage. His second goal then came after a spurt of Aggie scoring chances. Douglas charged Amarikwa's advance on goal in the 18th minute, then senior Mariano Arrua sent a shot over the Titan crossbar in the 22nd minute. On the ensuing corner kick, Douglas gloved a head shot by Aggie defender Russ Brown. Arrua collected the ball, fired a shot on frame that was stopped again by Douglas. Amarikwa collected the rebound and successfully planted it into the Titan cage.

"We worked hard the last three days on a couple of key areas that definitely helped us in this game," said UC Davis head coach Dwayne Shaffer. "We broke down some videotape and noticed things we needed to improve on. One was our team defense, the second was being more disciplined within our system of play, and the third -- and most important in all of college athletics -- was to play like a united team. I think we did all of those things today and it helped with every aspect of our game."

The Titans took a more offensive stance in the second half, putting up seven of their 11 total shots after the break. Warne, who had just one save in the first half, made five stops in the second half to preserve his second shutout of the year. Junior midfielder Omar Rodriguez fired a low blast at the Aggie target from 25 yards out, but Warne saved the missile on a short hop. Shortly thereafter, in the 63rd minute, senior Eugene Brooks put a hard line drive toward the upper left corner on frame, but the Aggie keeper made a two-handed save on the effort.

"I thought Fullerton had a couple of chances in the second half, but our team defense was outstanding," said Shaffer. "Charles Warne made a couple of great saves later in the game to preserve the shutout. Our two center midfielders, Nicholas Lind and Ahmad Hatifie, were outstanding and disciplined. And then our overall attack was really strong. Quincy had two nice follow-up goals and put himself in good position to score. Overall, we played really well."

UC Davis put one more goal into the books in the 87th minute, as Dylan Curtis sent a quick touch to Ian Conklin deep inside the Titan penalty box. Conklin collected the pass and redirected it low into the net for the Aggies' fourth goal. Friday's game marks the third time UC Davis has scored four or more goals in a game during the 2006 season.

The Aggies return to action on Sunday for a road game at Cal Poly.

GOALS - CSF: none. UC Davis: Paul Marcoux (Nicholas Lind), 5:33; Quincy Amarikwa (unassisted), 10:34; Quincy Amarikwa (Mariano Arrua), 23:13; Ian Conklin (Dylan Curtis), 86:56.
SHOTS - CSF: 11. UC Davis: 19.
SAVES - CSF: Brent Douglas 5 (90:00). UC Davis: Charles Warne 6 (90:00).
CORNERS - CSF: 3. UC Davis: 4.
FOULS - CSF: 11. UC Davis: 20.