March 29, 2012

Final Stats

BURLINGTON, Vt. - UC Davis rallied back from an 8-3 first-half deficit to within one goal with less than five minutes remaining, but was unable to complete the comeback bid in a 16-13 loss to Vermont at the university's new Virtue Field Thursday afternoon. Junior Elizabeth Datino and freshman Elizabeth Landry each had four goals for the Aggies.

UC Davis evens its record to 5-5. UVM improves to 7-3. The Catamounts are currently ranked 27th on the LaxPower.com computer rankings, higher than any other of the Aggies' 2012 opponents.

Datino, who entered the week with the top points-per-game average in Division I, added three assists for seven total points. Hannah Mirza tallied three goals and an assist, while goalkeeper Jordan Majka recorded a season-high 14 saves. Landry added three ground balls, two caused turnovers and a game-high seven draw controls to her offensive output.

Sophomore attacker Sydney Mas led Vermont with five goals and an assist. Karlie McKendrick performed a hat trick while Samantha Stern provided two goals and three assists.

Mas netted the first two goals of the game to provide the Cats with a 2-0 lead after three minutes of play. McKendrick later hit two goals in a 5-1 run that extended the UVM lead to 8-3. But Aggie junior Stephanie Guercio ended the run with an unassisted drive to make it 8-4 with 10:03 remaining, Datino cut the deficit to three at the 4:41 mark, then a Guercio steal helped set up a Mirza-to-Landry connection the other way to bring the score to 8-6.

Mas tallied a goal and assist in the final minutes to bring the Catamounts' halftime lead to 9-6.

Vermont extended their advantage back to four goals three times in the second half, including a Marcie Marino eight-meter chance that set the board at 13-9. But UC Davis fought to halve that lead to two, first on a Landry goal to put the score at 13-11 with 8:48 remaining, then again with a Datino-to-Mirza combination that brought UC Davis to within 14-12 with 6:07 to go.

With 4:58 left in the second half, freshman Charlotte Morris fed inside to Landry, who fired a quick-stick shot into the net, bringing the UVM lead to just 14-13. However, that proved to be the last of the Aggie scoring. The Catamounts converted their fifth and sixth free-position goals of the game in the 56th and 60th minutes, while generally playing a clock-management game. UC Davis also played short-handed for most of that last stretch, accruing two yellow cards in the final three minutes.

Vermont outshot UC Davis by a 42-33 margin, including 25-15 before the break. The eight-meter goals factored heavily into the outcome as well; the Catamounts hit 6 of 9 on such opportunities while the Aggies shot 1-for-4 on their end.

UC Davis returns home to resume Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, hosting California on Wednesday night. Game time from Aggie Stadium is 7 p.m.

GOALS - UC Davis: Elizabeth Datino 4, Elizabeth Landry 4, Hannah Mirza 3, Stephanie Guercio 1, Allie Lehner 1. UVM: Sydney Mas 5, Karli McKendrick 3, Samantha Stern 2, Marcie Marino 2, Jessica Roach 2, Allison Pfohl 1, Jen Madsen 1.

ASSISTS - UC Davis: Elizabeth Datino 3, Anna Geissbuhler 2, Charlotte Morris 2, Hannah Mirza 1. UVM: Samantha Stern 3, Sydney Mas 1, Adison Rounds 1.

GOALIE SAVES - UC Davis: Jordan Majka 14 (60:00). UVM: Laura Barber 13 (60:00).