Box Score Sept. 19, 2014 Box Score
DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis junior
Ian Palmer netted his second goal of the year midway through the first half to give his team an early lead and the host Aggies held a 24-8 advantage in shots on Friday evening, but could not pull out a win, battling darkness and visiting Air Force to a 1-1 draw at the Aggie Soccer Field.
Facing its third consecutive unbeaten opponent, the draw moved UC Davis to 2-0-4 on the season, keeping the Aggies unbeaten themselves and matching the school record for ties accomplished four other times since records are available beginning with the 1990 season.
The Falcons also remained unbeaten, moving to 3-0-3 on the year with the draw.
"Today our tempo was outstanding and we did everything right, but in the game of soccer, it doesn't matter how pretty you are unless you put the ball in the back of the net," Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer said. "Today, I felt, we just had too many great opportunities to score the second goal."
UC Davis unleashed a season-high barrage of shots against the Air Force defense and goalkeeper Jake Schenk, who stopped 10 of the Aggies' 11 shots on frame for the match to preserve the draw. The 24 shots by UC Davis were the most since they put up 26 against Bakersfield on Sept. 8, 2013, the third in a string of three straight 20-shot performances.
Palmer's goal was Schenk's only mistake on the night as the senior from Tucson, Arizona, took a short pass from teammate Justin Kitts, and nailed a shot to the lower right corner for the 1-0 lead. It was Palmer's third career goal and the first career point for Kitts, who redshirted the 2013 campaign.
Holding a 7-1 shot advantage in the first half, the Aggies looked to carry that one-goal advantage into the locker room at halftime before the Falcons equalized on their first shot of the match. Gus Jensen settled a ball at the top of the box and flicked it on to teammate Ryan Ward, who sent a rocket to the right post for his first score of the season with just over a minute remaining in the period.
Continuing to pour on the pressure in the second half, Palmer almost netted his second of the match in the 55th minute as Matt Sheldon found Kitts, who slotted a ball to Palmer once again, but Schenk was there for a point blank save to keep the match level. Another header by Palmer minutes later and one by Matt Wiesenfarth in the 79th minute just missed wide.
Kitts added another opportunity in the closing minutes of the match as Palmer cross a ball to the left post to a waiting Kitts, who chested the ball back across the goal mouth just wide. Air Force's offense built up for one last opportunity with three minutes remaining as Zachary Modly's rocket from a tight angle on the right side was punched over the net by Aggie goalkeeper Kris Schultz for a corner and the ensuing header was smothered by the junior, accounting for two of his three saves on the night.
UC Davis accounted for all six shots in extra time as Schenk denied Sheldon on a long-range attempt in the 93rd minute and Wiesenfarth missed high in the 98th minute. The Falcons got some help from the post in the second overtime as Ramon Martin Del Campo's volley off a Ryan Gross throw-in glanced off the right side and Schenk made a pair of saves on shots by Dashiell MacNamara and Sam Hoeck to forge the draw.
Palmer and Wiesenfarth led all players with four shots on the night as 10 different Aggies finished with attempts -- nine of those with multiple shots. Ward came off the bench to lead Air Force with three shots on the night.
"I'm happy with the way my team is playing," Shaffer said. "I'm happy with their effort, attitude, their work-rate... everything about this team is outstanding. We just need to start finishing our opportunities. When we do, we're going to be a very dangerous team."
Friday's contest was played as part of the semi-annual Copa de Causeway event with rival Sacramento State, a four-team, two-site event co-hosted by UC Davis and Sacramento State. The Hornets fell in overtime to Grand Canyon University, 1-0, earlier in the day as the Aggies and Antelopes face off on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 21) at 1 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Field.
Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a tie to determine the tournament champion, while an all-tournament team will be announced following Sunday's matches.
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