Aug. 30, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif. - Kate Snyder scored in the 57th minute, less than a minute after UC Davis had tied the game 2-2, helping lift the Miami (Ohio) women's field hockey team to a 4-2 nonconference win over the Aggies on Monday afternoon at Maxwell Family Field at Cal.
The neutral-site win pushed the Redhawks to 3-0 while the Aggies dropped their season-opener. Nadia Namdari and Emily Mecke each scored goals for UC Davis, answering two early scores from Miami that pushed it in front 2-0 just over seven minutes into the game.
UC Davis, which is in its second season after returning to varsity status in 2009, fell behind to the Redhawks early in the game after Jackie Nguyen scored on a penalty corner barely three minutes into the game and then added another four minutes later off a deflection.
Despite the early deficit, UC Davis tightened the defense and held the Redhawks without a score for more than 49 minutes. The Aggies cut into their two-goal deficit in the 31st minute when Namdari put a shot into the left corner.
The score remained 2-1 until Emily Mecke took a short pass from Namdari in the 56th minute, put a cross-cage shot in from the left, and tied the game 2-2. However, the rally was short-lived as Miami came right back and scored 42 seconds later when Snyder scored off an assist from Emily Gruesser. The goal proved to be the game-winner.
The Redhawks' Mary Hull flipped in a goal six minutes later, providing the final margin. Miami outshot UC Davis 21-4 and held a 14-1 advantage in penalty corners, Lauren Sawvwelle had seven saves in goal for the Aggies.
Despite the loss, second-year coach Vianney Campos was proud of her team's effort.
"We did the things we came out to do," said Campos. "We challenged (the team) in many areas and they overcame those challenges,. Being down 2-0 to a tough opponent who's very fit was very hard for us to handle previously and this year I think we adjusted a lot better. We made better in-game adjustments today."
UC Davis will return to action on Friday when it plays a NorPac Conference game at Stanford at 7 p.m. The Aggies will continue league action with a 1 p.m. matchup at Cal on Sunday.
