Nov. 19, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK
Sat., Nov. 22 - DENVER, 1:00 p.m. (NCAA First Round), Aggie Soccer Stadium
LAST WEEK
Wed., Nov. 12 - at UC Irvine (Big West Tournament) L, 1-0
RECAP
The UC Davis men's soccer lost it's opening game of the Big West Tournament at UC Irvine, 1-0... The loss eliminated the Aggies from the conference tournament and gave them a 12-4-4 record to end the regular season... It was also the first loss to the Anteaters this season as the two teams had tied in their previous two meetings... UC Irvine won the tournament championship over UC Santa Barbara, 4-2.
The Big West announced it's all-conference teams on Tuesday and Aggie seniors Quincy Amarikwa and Dylan Curtis headlined the offensive awards... Amarikwa was named the Offensive Player of the Year while Curtis earned Midfielder of the Year accolades... In addition, senior defender Jordan Vanderpoorten received second-team honors while fellow senior Sule Anibaba and junior Paul Marcoux both earned honorable mention acclaim.... Anibaba and Amarikwa were all-conference honorees last season... It was the first all-conference honors for Curtis, Marcoux and Vanderpoorten.
In addition to his all-conference honors, Curtis added to his accolades by being named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team... Curtis becomes only the second UC Davis soccer player to earn the distinction and the first since Matt DeJong earned third-team honors in 2000.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
For the second consecutive season, UC Davis received an at-large berth into the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship tournament... The 17th-ranked Aggies become the first UC Davis team to make two D-I tournament appearances and will be the first Aggie team to host a D-I tournament game... UC Davis welcomes Denver to Aggie Soccer Stadium on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.
Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased by calling 530-752-1915, or walking up to the UC Davis Ticket Office at Freeborn Hall.... Tickets for adults will be $7 while seniors (65+), students with valid ID's and UC Davis faculty and staff are $5... Capacity at Aggie Soccer Stadium will be 1,300.
ABOUT DENVER
The Pioneers earned their first NCAA tournament berth since 1970 by winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title with an impressive 8-1-1 record... It marked Denver's first-ever MPSF title... Denver owns an overall record of 10-6-2... The Pioneers opened their season with five losses in their first seven games, but battled the rest of the season to finish 8-1-2... Denver's only blemish was a 1-0 loss in its regular season finale to MPSF member New Mexico.
Denver features a balanced offensive attack with eight players who have multiple goals... Kyle Christensen leads the team with six goals and 15 points... Joey Mathot is right behind with a team-high seven assists and 13 points... Sam Garza, Collin Audley and Colin Jones each boast four goals and multiple assists.... Defensively, Denver has a 1.24 goals against average... Goalkeeper Joe Willis has started 14 of the team's 18 games and has 66 saves and a save percentage of .835.
HEAD COACH Dwayne Shaffer
On Making NCAA Tournament: "It's a great tribute to the university, the athletics department and our team. Without all the help that we've had from our department, we wouldn't be able to achieve what we have. It's not just the men's soccer program, but the entire athletics department that deserves credit for this achievement. I feel like it gives every other program in our department hope that they can also make a run at the NCAA tournament. You have to play well during the season and in the Big West Conference to earn a berth into the NCAA tournament, and our team was able to achieve that for a second straight year."
On Hosting Tournament Game: "It is a huge deal for our team to host a first round game. It shows that we've had a great year. All the hard work has paid off. It's always a great atmosphere to play in front of the Aggie Pack and our dedicated soccer fans. It's great for the alumni and our former players who put in the time and effort to help build this program. Hopefully we'll play a great game and everybody will be proud of the results. It will just help to motivate us to play on our home field."
On Denver: "They are a very good team. That is evident by their MPSF championship. Earning a berth into the NCAA tournament also shows that they have a very good team. I'm expecting Denver to be a very hardworking and fit team. I think they're going to come down here with a lot of energy and effort. I know that their head coach came from Wake Forest, which is now one of the top programs in the country. He comes from a good program that knows how to win and he's probably transferred that over to Denver."
