Aug. 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK
Friday, Aug. 29 - Long Island, 5:00 p.m. (Aggie Soccer Stadium)
Sunday, Aug. 31 - CS Bakersfield, 12:00 p.m. (Aggie Soccer Stadium)

LAST WEEK
Sunday, Aug. 24 - Defeated Chico State, 1-0 (exhibition)

RECAP
UC Davis, who ranks 30th in the College Soccer News preseason poll, defeated Chico State 1-0 in an exhibition game at Aggie Soccer Stadium Sunday afternoon... Junior Chris Leer converted a cross from senior Quincy Amarikwa on the right side of the box in the second minute of the game to score the game's only goal... Although not an official game, it marked the Aggies' first action of 2008... The game was also a homecoming for current Wildcat head coach Felipe Restrepo, who had spent 11 years with the Aggies as a coach and player.

Despite scoring only once, the Aggies held the shot advantage over Chico State at 15-10 and managed five shots on goal... Leer, Amarikwa and Ian Conklin each tallied a game-high three shots.

Sophomore Ryan McCowan made two saves in goal to pick up the win and the shutout... McCowan's first save was the biggest as it came on a 1v1 late in the first half to keep the Aggies ahead.

UPCOMING OPPONENTS
UC Davis officially opens its 2008 season this weekend by hosting two games in the second annual Copa de Causeway tournament... Co-hosted by Sacramento State, the tournament features Long Island and Cal State Bakersfield along with the Hornets and Aggies... In addition, both weekend games will be part of doubleheaders with the Aggie women's soccer team.

The tournament kicks off at Aggie Soccer Stadium at 5 p.m. Friday against Long Island... That game is preceded by the women's game against San Jose State at 2:30 p.m.... Long Island enters the season with 10 returning players from last year's squad that went 5-8-4 overall and finished sixth in the Northeast Conference (NEC)... The Blackbirds, who were picked to finish sixth in the NEC coaches poll, have played two exhibition games, beating Rutgers and losing to Iona by identical 2-1 scores.

The Aggies finish the tournament Sunday against Cal State Bakersfield at noon... That game is followed by the women's game against Navy at 3 p.m.... The Roadrunners open their season at co-host Sac State on Friday before taking on the Aggies Sunday... Cal State Bakersfield is in its third year of a four-year reclassification process to NCAA Division I status... CSUB has 18 letter winners returning and only lost one starter from last year's team that went 4-10-4 during its first year playing a full D-I schedule.

Sacramento State will also host Long Island and CSUB at Hornet Soccer Field... The Hornets open Friday at 5 p.m. with the Roadrunners before playing Long Island Sunday at 1 p.m.

HEAD COACH Dwayne Shaffer
On Exhibition: "It was great to get our season started and it was nice to have Felipe (Restrepo) back in Davis. He was here for 10-plus years and now he has his shot as the head coach at Chico (State). He's going to be great for them. He's recruited heavily and brought in a lot of talented players. I was impressed with the way Chico State played. They showed a lot of heart. I'm proud of Felipe and it was great to see him back in Davis. We were prepared for the game. We started fast with Chris Leer's goal and I thought that was a nice way to start our 2008 campaign. We had another chance 20 minutes later to really open the game up, but we just didn't put it away. Chico weathered the storm and gained confidence. Overall I thought it was a good game. I was happy with the way my t eam performed. We walked away from the game with a win and a shutout."

On Copa de Causeway: "Anytime you're playing at home, you always want to protect your home field. You hope that you can pick up a couple victories to start the season. I know both teams will be well coached. I expect Long Island to be quite a bit different than any other team we'll see from the west coast. I expect our fans and players to fired up for a great game. I know (Bakersfield coach) Simon Tobin very well and I know his teams are always very well prepared. He keeps a low profile, but he's got great teams and I expect it will be the same this season. I'm looking forward to two very difficult games to open the season and hopefully we can pull off a couple wins to propel us into the season. "