Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. - A sweet pass from Kayla Wigney split two Pacific defenders before Sophia Lisaius redirected the ball into a wide open cage in the final minutes of Thursday's NorPac Tournament contest from Pacific Field Hockey Turf, a game-winning shot that led to a 2-1 UC Davis victory.

With the result, the Aggies improve to 5-13 overall and earn a date against No. 4 Stanford, the tournament's top seed, in Friday's 2 p.m. semifinal. Pacific fell to 6-13 with the loss and will battle Appalachian State for fifth place tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Wigney's game-winning assist capped a three-point afternoon since she was responsible for her team's first goal.

Even though UC Davis dominated the first half by outshooting Pacific 11-2, posting seven shots on goal compared to the Tigers' one and drawing more than twice as many corners (7-3), it was Pacific that scored the day's first goal in the 43rd minute.

Pacific's lead was brief, however, as Wigney scored her team-high sixth goal four minutes later to even the score once again. Originating from one of her team's three second-half penalty corners, Jamie Garcia what the first player to fire a shot at Pacific goalkeeper Laura Pujade. Even though she made the original save, Wigney, who camped out in front of the Tigers' cage after play resumed, collected the rebound and had nothing but open space in front of her.

As was the case in the first half, a vast majority of action in the second took place within Pacific's 25-yard area; UC Davis did everything but score in the 20 minutes that followed Wigney's equalizer.

In their last visit to Stockton, the Aggies lost an overtime heartbreaker and missed their chance to record a season sweep against the Tigers. In Thursday's playoff match, with a semifinal berth on the line, it was the Aggies that played the role of spoiler by knocking in the decisive goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

"We remembered what happened the last time we faced Pacific," said Wigney. "That goal ticked us off, everyone was not going to let that happen again."

On a late counterattack, Wigney received a pass from Kristin Rodgers at the Tigers' 25-yard line, spun around her defender and sprinted towards Pacific's cage. Lurking on the opposite half of the field was Lisaius; once Wigney drew both defenders positioned in front of Pujade, Wigney split both players and punched the ball towards her teammate. Lisaius had nothing but time and open space in front of her once she received the ball since the closest Pacific players was nowhere near its cage.

The goal was Lisaius' fourth of the year.

"Once I received the ball from Kristin, I ran far post and saw Sophia on the opposite side," said Wigney.

"She pulled the ball through two girls," added Lisaius, "which meant that I had to score the goal. The whole team worked hard throughout the entire game, I felt that the entire day came down to that moment.

Pacific made things interesting in the final minute when the Tigers drew their fourth, and final corner of the game. As was the case with all three previous opportunities, the Aggies disrupted the Tigers' plans by hitting the ball outside the scoring arc to safety.

By recording one save in each half, UC Davis goalkeeper Briana Sooy picked up the win.

UC Davis will return to Stockton, Calif., Friday afternoon to face the Stanford for the second time in as many weeks. On Halloween, UC Davis traveled to Palo Alto and placed itself in excellent position to earn its first road victory against the Cardinal. Only a last-minute Stanford goal was the difference between heading to overtime, and heading back to Davis with a 2-1 loss.

"This is tournament play, anything can happen. We need to work hard, play as a team and play as if we have nothing to lose and everything to gain," said Lisaius.

Friday's semifinal against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed will start at 2 p.m. A link for live stats and a free live stream will be available at ucdavisaggies.com.

The winner of tomorrow's Stanford-UC Davis matchup will square off against the winner of the day's other semifinal, featuring Cal and Liberty, in Saturday's 1:30 p.m. championship. The other teams will battle for third place Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.