Sept. 25, 2010
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Rachelle Comeau scored two goals for California, including a golden goal in the 74th minute to give the Golden Bears a 4-3 overtime field hockey win over UC Davis Saturday, at Aggie Stadium in Davis, Calif.
The home opener for the Aggies was an eventful one, with five combined goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime. With the loss, UC Davis drops to 3-4 overall with a 0-3 mark in NorPac play, while California improved to 5-4 and 4-0 within the conference.
The Golden Bears were able to find the back of the cage early on, scoring a goal in the fourth minute of play for an early 1-0 advantage. Megan Shimojima was credited with her second goal of the season, while Comeau received the assist.
Once UC Davis got settled, they were able to bounce back in the 25th minute of play, when Cloey LemMon answered with a goal of her own. LemMon's unassisted goal came off a rebound and evened the score at one apiece. The score stayed tied at halftime, with the Aggies holding a 7-6 shot advantage in the first 35 minutes of play.
In the second half, both teams struggled to find scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes. UC Davis broke the seal in the 60th minute, when Nadia Namdari converted on a nice cross from Emily Mecke and put the Aggies on top 2-1. California didn't long to respond however, as Comeau was able to weave in between two defenders and score an unassisted goal at the 62:14 minute mark.
The UC Davis attack continued, with Marissa Hughes scoring a close range goal after LemMon's cross in the 66th minute. The Aggies looked to have the game under control with a 3-2 lead, but the Golden Bears earned a penalty corner in the final minute of regulation. Claire Dougherty managed to score the equalizer with just 32 seconds on the clock, extending the contest into overtime.
In the first overtime period, California wasted little time, ending with a golden goal after just 4:41 ticked off the clock. Comeau got out on a breakaway, racing by two UC Davis defenders to score the game winner, her second goal of the game.
Lauren Sawvelle tallied two saves in goal after a complete game for the Aggies, while Maddie Hand and Haleh Nourani combined for three saves for the Golden Bears.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, head coach Vianney Campos was encouraged by her team's play.
"Even if it goes down as a loss, that was a win in our book," said Campos. "We overcame some really big obstacles in our first game at home. It really was a successful day for us."
"This game will really carry some momentum into next weekend vs. Stanford," continued Campos. "We'll keep telling the team that they made some huge adjustments today and they recognize that. We will build off of that and continue to compete next week."
UC Davis will be back at home next weekend, when they play host to NorPac foe Stanford on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 3 p.m.
