Box Score Oct. 11, 2014

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Freshman Miguel Acevedo led all players with four shots on the night while junior goalkeeper Kris Schultz made five saves between the pipes, but neither UC Davis nor host CSUN could find the back of the net as the two sides battled to a scoreless draw on Saturday night at the Matador Soccer Field.

The draw moved the Aggies to 4-1-8 overall on the season and 2-1-1 in Big West Conference play, tying the league record for draws in a season set by UC Riverside in 2007 and pulling to within one of the NCAA single-season mark set by Providence in 2005 and matched by St. John's (2009) and South Florida (2013).

Saturday marked the third scoreless draw of the season for UC Davis and the ninth overtime contest of the year -- pulling the Aggies to within two of the NCAA record for such games set by Saint Louis in 2003 and equalled by San Diego State in 2009 and UC Davis' 2011 squad.

The seven points for the Aggies have them tied atop a crowded North Division table with seven points along with Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, while Sacramento State is fourth with six points.

The Matadors moved to 4-7-2 overall and 0-3-1 in Big West play with the draw.

CSUN held a 15-9 advantage in shots for the match, including a 9-3 lead after the first 45 minutes. The Matadors tested Schultz early with Sagi Lev-Ari and Edwin Rivas forcing the junior into a pair of quick saves, while Acevedo unleashed a pair for the Aggies a minute apart, but missing the mark high and wide right. Senior Matt Sheldon had UC Davis' first attempt on frame turned away by Adam Hobbs in the 25th minute as the match remained scoreless.

The Aggies were then dealt a huge blow, forced to play a man down after senior captain Ramon Martin Del Campo was issued a red card in the 34th minute, but the UC Davis defense stiffened as Schultz made a save and the Aggies blocked a pair of shots, getting some help from the crossbar with 1:55 remaining in regulation, to head into the locker room scoreless at the break.

Schultz made two more saves in the second half and Hobbs turned away two attempts himself, including a header by freshman Kyle Higgins in the 86th minute that would have given UC Davis the lead as the two sides headed to overtime. The match became a little more open for the final half hour of regulation after CSUN's Shane Steffes was issued a red card in the 60th minute, creating a 10-on-10 situation, but only three of the final eight shots during that stretch were on net.

In the first extra period, both teams finished with a shot and the Aggies had a pair of corner kicks that were defensed by the Matadors, but UC Davis suffered yet another loss when Schultz was forced to leave the match due to injury with 34 seconds to play. Sophomore Armando Quezada came on to finish the match, stopping an attempt by Lev-Ari in the 104th minute to preserve the shutout.

With its trip through the Big West's South Division complete, UC Davis now turns its attention to its North Division competition beginning next week as the Aggies host perennial power UC Santa Barbara on Saturday (Oct. 18) at 3 p.m. in their lone match of the week.