Oct. 16, 2010

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - With less than two minutes left in the second overtime period, junior Ethan Shawlee connected on a cross from freshman Elliott Hord with a diving header to give the UC Davis men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Cal State Northridge Saturday at Aggie Stadium.

The win is UC Davis' third straight and gives the Aggies a 5-8 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the Big West Conference. It is the second straight overtime victory as well as the third straight shutout for UC Davis.

Cal State Northridge drops to 2-9-2 overall and 1-3-1 in league action.

In front of a crowd of over 1,200 fans, Hord retrieved a ball that had been deflected towards the right sideline and served a cross into the penalty area. Shawlee made a run on the far post and used his 6-foot-3 frame to knock the header past Cal State Northridge goalkeeper Michael Abalos.

Having faced each other only a week prior to Saturday's game, UC Davis and Cal State Northridge each used a strong defense to ward off shot attempts on both sides. The game remained scoreless through the first period despite the Matadors' 4-3 advantage in shots.

In the 27th minute, Cal State Northridge's Chris Smith fired a shot on goal, but freshman goalkeeper Omar Zeenni was able to tip it over the crossbar.

As the second half began, Alex Henry and Brady Jimison each took shots within the first few minutes of the period, but neither were successful.

In the 75th minute, the Matadors nearly scored, starting with a shot by Gustavo Villalobos that was blocked by a UC Davis defender. The ball flipped to Alberto Rosas, who blasted a shot on goal, but Zeenni deflected the shot. Another Cal State Northridge forward attempted to follow the shot, but was called offside.

At the 82:57 mark, John Joslin took a shot from about 20 yards out which Abalos stopped, then jumped on the ball to save it. Cal State Northridge followed that up with back-to-back shots in the 83rd and 84th minute, but both attempts were wide of the goal. As time counted down, Dan Reese raced after the ball, but Abalos came out to smother the attempt at the 88:26 mark.

In the first overtime, the UC Davis offense recorded the only shot attempts of the period. At the 95:07 mark, Alex Aguiar made a run down the left side and passed back to Joslin who found Kevin Schulte. Schulte's shot was saved by Abalos, but only 20 seconds later, Jacob Barron fired a shot from 15 yards out. Abalos was there, however, for another save and the game would continue.

In the second overtime it was Cal State Northridge's turn for a strong attack. In the 100th minute, Villalobo's shot was barely wide. UC Davis regrouped and earned a corner kick on the opposite end of the field. Schulte took the corner and found Nathan Javadi making a run, but Javadi's header was barely wide of the goal.

Finally at the 108:05 mark, Hord and Shawlee's connection gave UC Davis the 1-0 golden goal victory.

Zeenni finished with three saves while Abalos had five saves.

UC Davis hosts UC Santa Barbara Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7:15 p.m. at Aggie Stadium