Nov. 2, 2011

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton scored within two minutes of each other in the second half, but would settle for a 1-1 tie in a men's soccer Big West Conference matchup on Wednesday in Davis.

UC Davis moves to 7-7-3 overall and 5-3-1 in league play after finishing their tenth overtime game of the season. The Aggies are only one overtime game away from tying a Div. I record.

The tie was Cal State Fullerton's fifth of the year as the Titans are now 7-6-5 overall and 1-5-3 in the Big West.

With the tie, UC Davis maintains sole possession of second place in the Big West Conference with 16 points. UC Irvine is in first place with 19 points while UC Santa Barbara is in third with 15 points. UC Riverside is in fourth place with 14 points.

The conference tournament field is set and the Aggies have punched their ticket to the postseason, but the seeding of the top four teams remains to be seen as three of the four teams have one game left to play this season.

A win on Saturday would give UC Davis a share of the conference title with UC Irvine, but the Aggies would emerge as the No. 1 seed in the tournament after beating the Anteaters head-to-head on Oct. 19.

UC Davis controlled the tempo of the game from the start, maintaining most of the first-half possession and firing nine shots on Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon.

After a scoreless first half, Dan Reese gave the Aggies a brief 1-0 lead in the 69th minute. Alex Aguiar made a run down the right sideline, then crossed the ball into the middle. Matt Wiesenfarth and Reese were both in the six-yard box, but it was the freshman Wiesenfarth who controlled the ball, bouncing it off his chest to a running Reese who scored.

Only two minutes later, Jesse Vega tied the game after he one touched a loose ball into the back of the net. Kevin Venegas' corner kick sailed into the box, but bounced around between several Aggie and Titan players before landing in front of Vega who sent his shot into the goal.

The Aggies worked to break the tie, sending seven shots towards the Cal State Fullerton goal before the end of the half. In one sequence, Ramon Martin Del Campo attempted a header of an Alex Henry corner kick. The header was blocked, the ball ricocheted back to Martin del Campo, but his subsequent attempt was also blocked by a Titan defender. The ball bounced to Matt Sheldon who headed it on goal, but Whiddon was there with the save for Cal State Fullerton.

With only 30 seconds left in regulation, Alex Henry hit a hard shot across the goal from the left side, but Whiddon punched it out to send the game to overtime.

The game would end in a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton taking three shots during the extra periods to UC Davis' one attempt.

Matt Wiesenfarth led all players with five shots while John Joslin had four attempts for UC Davis. Oscar Aguero had four shots for Cal State Fullerton.

Goalkeepers Omar Zeenni and Whiddon each finished with five saves.

UC Davis closes out the season on Saturday in a road match at UC Riverside. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.