March 14, 2011
2011 Schedule
DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's soccer team has revealed a 2011 game schedule that features home games against NCAA Men's Soccer Division I Championship participants UCLA and UC Santa Barbara as well as Causeway rival Sacramento State, it was announced by head coach Dwayne Shaffer.
"I'm very excited about our overall schedule but especially our home schedule," said Shaffer. "We have 10 home games and the exciting part is that we have many of them on the weekends this year to allow our fans and supporters the opportunity to come out and watch our team play. Having UCLA along with UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly come out for weekend games is a great home schedule that all of our fans and alumni should be excited about."
UC Davis opens the 2011 campaign with four straight home matches, which includes a game against Pac-10 powerhouse UCLA at Aggie Soccer Stadium Sept. 4. The 5 p.m. matchup will be preceded by a UC Davis Men's Soccer Alumni Reception beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The Bruins concluded the 2010 season with a No. 7 national ranking and an overall record of 16-5-1 after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
"It's a great experience for the UC Davis soccer program to have a team like UCLA to come and play at UC Davis," said Shaffer. "It's an opportunity for our fans to come out and support the Aggies against one of the best college soccer programs in the country. We've had two great experiences at UCLA in the past five years and we're fortunate to have them return the game here in Davis so I hope everyone comes out to support the Ags."
UC Davis follows that game with another Pac-10 opponent in Oregon State on Sept. 9.
A match against Cal State Bakersfield Sept. 11 leads the Aggies into a tournament hosted by Northwestern Sept. 16-18. UC Davis will face Northwestern and Northern Illinois in Evanston, Ill.
The Aggies return home to host crosstown rival Sacramento State on Sept. 23 in the annual Causeway Classic matchup. UC Davis and Sacramento State battled in a 2-1 decision that went the Hornets way and saw Lance Patterson score a goal a mere 10 seconds into the match.
Sacramento State won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament for the second straight year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets finished with an overall record of 11-4-7.
UC Davis begins Big West play with a home series against Cal State Northridge on Sept. 28 and UC Riverside on Oct. 1. The Aggies will host UC Santa Barbara, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on Oct. 8 and conference rival Cal Poly on Oct. 22.
The Aggies' 2010 conference season was highlighted by three straight wins Oct. 9-16, starting with a 1-0 win at Cal State Northridge on Oct. 9. The Aggies then picked up back-to-back home wins against UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge.
During Big West play, six games were decided by only one goal.
