Sept. 30, 2014 THIS WEEK…
Cal State Fullerton (4-3-2) at UC Davis (2-0-7)
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 | 1 p.m.
Aggie Soccer Field
Davis, Calif.
UC Riverside (1-6-1) at UC Davis (2-0-7)
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 | 3 p.m.
Aggie Soccer Field
Davis, Calif.
KICK OFF: Still unbeaten and fit to be tied in 2014, the UC Davis men's soccer team (2-0-7 overall) opens its "second season" this weekend, kicking off Big West Conference play with a pair of matches against South Division rivals at the Aggie Soccer Field. The week begins on Thursday (Oct. 2) at 1 p.m., welcoming Cal State Fullerton to Northern California as the opening act of a doubleheader with the UC Davis women's team. The Aggies then host UC Riverside on Saturday (Oct. 4) at 3 p.m.
WHEN AND WHERE?: The Aggies' schedule has undergone a pair of changes for their matches against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 2 and Cal Poly on Nov. 5. Originally scheduled as night games at Aggie Stadium, home of UC Davis football, the two matches will not be played at the Aggie Soccer Field at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton, nor UC Riverside, are listed among the nation's top 25 entering this week's contests.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis Athletics by following us on Facebook (facebook.com/ucdavisaggies) and Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). Live in-game updates are also available on Twitter by following us @UCDavisInGame.
I NEED STATS, STAT!: Barring technical difficulties, new-look live stats for all UC Davis home games, as well as selected road contests, are available on your computer and mobile device courtesy the StatBroadcast platform. Visit the men's soccer schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com or the StatBroadcast landing page at UCDavisLiveStats.com to access the links when the games begin.
CAL STATE FULLERTON BRIEFLY: Under the direction of new head coach George Kuntz, the Titans finished non-conference play with a 4-3-2 mark, having won their last four straight matches against No. 14 UMBC (4-3 in double overtime), Santa Clara (1-0), Nebraska-Omaha (3-1), and Grand Canyon (1-0)... Fullerton is 1-1-1 this season away from Titan Stadium... Senior midfielder Garrett Losee leads the team with three goals and ranks second on the squad to teammate Ian Ramos (21) with 20 shots... Redshirt junior Jeff Salt and sophomore David Rodriguez Elias have split time in net nearly down the middle, combining for a 1.14 goals against average, a .766 save percentage, and four shutouts.
UC RIVERSIDE BRIEFLY: The Highlanders limp into conference play with a 1-6-1 overall record and an 0-2 mark in road matches this season... UC Riverside is winless in its last seven (0-6-1) following a season-opening win over Pacific, save for a scoreless draw against San Diego on Sept. 18... Redshirt junior forward Michael Salazar leads the team offensively with three goals -- all coming in the win over the Tigers to start the season -- and an assist, while unleashing 24 shots on the season... Junior Ashkan Khosravi has started all eight matches in net, posting a 1.33 goals against average, .761 save percentage, and a shutout in eight games... Six of the Highlanders' eight matches have been decided by a single goal (including the scoreless draw), as they have only been outscored 11-7 on the year and out-shot by a 105-95 count.
SERIES NOTES: The series between the Aggies and the Dons is all tied up at 1-1-1... UC Davis edged USF, 1-0, in the last meeting between the two last season in Davis and carries a two-match unbeaten streak into Friday's contest following a 2-2 draw in 2012 at San Francisco... The Dons won the first meeting between the two by a 2-1 score in 2004 at Negoesco Stadium... Saint Mary's leads the series with UC Davis, 4-2, but the Aggies downed the Gaels, also by a 1-0 score, last season in Moraga -- their first-ever win on Saint Mary's home field... UC Davis is 1-1 against the Gaels at home, winning by a 2-1 score in 2010 and falling 2-0 in 2012... Sunday's meeting marks the sixth consecutive year that the two programs have met.
FOR OPENERS (BIG WEST STYLE): UC Davis is a combined 2-4-1 in Big West Conference openers since becoming full-fledged members of the league in 2007. The Aggies snapped a three-match losing in such matches with their 2-0 victory over then-No. 25 UC Irvine last season, and will open their conference slate against Cal State Fullerton for the first time since joining the Big West. Combined, UC Davis is 2-0-1 against the Anteaters, 0-2 against CSUN, and 0-2 against UC Santa Barbara, while posting a 1-2 mark when opening the conference schedule at home.
LEAGUE HONORS AGGIE DEFENDER: UC Davis senior defender
Ramon Martin Del Campo was named the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon after helping the Aggies handcuff a pair of West Coast Conference offenses last weekend. It is the first career weekly honor for the Chula Vista, California, native, becoming only the 12th different Aggie to earn the conference's weekly award and joining teammate
Kris Schultz as honorees from UC Davis this season. Martin Del Campo led a defensive charge that limited San Francisco and Saint Mary's to a combined six shots on goal over 220 minutes of soccer, helping UC Davis forge a pair of draws. He also got into the act on the offensive end, converting a penalty kick in the 64th minute against the Gaels, giving the Aggies an early 1-0 lead on Sunday (more on that in a moment).
TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING: Martin Del Campo's goal against Saint Mary's was his first score in over two years, finding the back of the net for the first time since collecting the game-tying goal in the 86th minute of a 2-2 draw at San Francisco on Sept. 6, 2012.
HOME SWEET STREAK: Despite not having won a match at home this season (nor suffering a loss, for that matter), the Aggies are unbeaten in their last eight home contests dating back to last season, posting a 2-0-6 mark in that span. UC Davis' last loss on its home pitch came on Oct. 26, 2013, against Causeway rival Sacramento State by a 1-0 score. Overall, the Aggies are a combined 90-43-19 (.655) at the Aggie Soccer Field in 17-plus seasons under the direction of Head Coach
Dwayne Shaffer, including four straight winning seasons.
ONE AND ONE: Usually a term heard at The Pavilion during Aggie basketball games, its also been used often this season to describe the finish at the Aggie Soccer Field in 2014. Sunday's draw with Saint Mary's marked the fifth, 1-1, result of the year for UC Davis -- all five of those coming on the home pitch.
SAME STORY, DIFFERENT DAY: The Aggies must be thinking that the NCAA has changed the rules and soccer matches are now 110 minutes long. When the final horn sounded on Sunday, UC Davis had wrapped up its school-record seventh consecutive double-overtime match, and its eighth in nine matches overall. Only the Aggies' 2-1 win over Canisius on Aug. 31 finished in regulation as they have played all but 17 seconds of a possible 160 minutes of overtime this season -- that's the equivalent of a regulation match (90 minutes), plus two overtimes (20), plus another half (45), plus another 4:43 added on for good measure.
FOUR DRAWS AND TWO WEEKS AGO: Sunday's 1-1 tie against Saint Mary's sealed the Aggies' fourth consecutive draw, tying the school record originally set by the 2012 squad, which finished in a tie in four straight contests from Aug. 27-Sept. 6 that season.
YES, SIR, MAY WE PLAY ANOTHER?: The Aggies' eight overtime matches this season have them quickly closing in on the NCAA record for such games set by Saint Louis in 2003 and equalled by San Diego State in 2009 and UC Davis in 2011.
BOW, NECK, OR BOLO?: The Aggies' seven ties this season are just two shy of the NCAA single-season record previously accomplished three times. Providence College set the mark in 2005, followed by St. John's in 2009 and South Florida in 2013.
AWWW, SHOOT!: UC Davis reached 20 shots in a match for the second time this season on Sunday against Saint Mary's, posting double figures in that categories for the fifth consecutive game and the sixth time in nine matches overall. The performance moved the Aggies into third place in the Big West in that category with 124 overall -- just four back of UC Irvine and 11 behind league-leading Cal Poly.
ONE IS THE LONLIEST NUMBER: It's also been the happiest for the Aggies' defense, which has been stout over the course of the team's last 16 matches, allowing multiple goals just once during that span -- the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at UC Irvine. UC Davis, however, has scored two-or-more goals four times in that stretch -- proving more is merrier by winning all four -- while posting just a 1-2-9 mark in the remaining 12 contests.
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): The seven goals allowed by the UC Davis defense are the fewest in the Big West Conference entering league play, while the Aggies also stand atop the league with a 0.65 goals against average.
NICE DEBUT: Sophomore goalkeeper
Armando Quezada made a stellar 2014 debut between the pipes for the Aggies, matching his career high with five saves and posting his second career shutout in a scoreless draw at San Francisco last Friday night. He also earned the start in Sunday's draw with Saint Mary's, combining to post a save percentage of better than 80 percentage while allowing just one goal (0.41 GAA) in 220 minutes.
THAT'S FOUL: Bring an ice pack, Thursday's conference opener against Cal State Fullerton could be a bruiser. The match-up features the top two teams in the league when it comes to fouls as the Aggies edge the Titans for the top spot, 134-132.
GOOSE EGGS FOR EVERYBODY!: UC Davis' second scoreless draw of the season against San Francisco last Friday was the seventh in the Aggies' brief Division I history dating back to 2007, and the 11th for the program dating back to 1990, with eight of those coming on the road. UC Davis was last locked in a scoreless draw at Ohio State to kick-off this season on Aug. 29, marking only the third time since 1990 that the Aggies have had multiple scoreless draws in a season.
UC DAVIS DIVISION I SCORELESS DRAWS...
Sept. 5, 1993 at Metro State
Sept. 29, 2000 vs. UC San Diego
Oct. 6, 2000 at Cal Poly Pomona
Sept. 16, 2003 at Chico State
Nov. 8, 2008 vs. UC Santa Barbara
Oct. 21, 2009 at CSUN
Sept. 11, 2011 vs. CSU Bakersfield
Aug. 27, 2012 at CSU Bakersfield
Aug. 31, 2012 at Air Force
Aug. 29, 2014 at Ohio State
Sept. 26, 2014 at San Francisco
RECYCLED NOTES
PROSPECTING: UC Davis senior defender
Ramon Martin Del Campo continues to garner attention an accolades with just two matches gone in the 2014 season, named to the SoccerByIves.net Top 40 Major League Soccer college draft prospects list. Martin Del Campo, who stands fourth on the list, is one of two Big West Conference players mentioned along with CSUN's Sagi Lev-Ari (No. 33). View the complete list at
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/08/draft-college-prospects.html.
SCHULTZ STELLAR EN ROUTE TO WEEKLY HONORS: UC Davis junior goalkeeper
Kris Schultz capped off a triumphant return in net on Monday afternoon, selected as the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon following his stellar weekend in helping the Aggies to an unbeaten start to 2014. Officially making his first appearance since Sept. 16, 2012, against SMU -- and only the second and third appearances of his career -- Schultz stymied the opposition this past weekend in Ohio en route to his all-tournament nod, posting a 0.45 goals against average in 200 minutes, making seven combined saves and posting a shutout of the host Buckeyes in the season opener while facing a barrage of 21 shots from the tournament hosts. The clean sheet was the first of his career while the four stops against Canisius were a career high.
AGGIES PICKED SECOND IN THE BIG WEST NORTH, FOURTH OVERALL: UC Davis was picked to finish second in the Big West Conference's North Division, and fourth overall, according to a vote of the league's head coaches released on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 21). The Aggies earned 20 points to finish behind only unanimous selection UC Santa Barbara, which received all eight first-place votes and 32 points overall to top the table. Cal Poly, with 19 points, and Sacramento State, with nine points, round out the North. In the South, CSUN topped the division with six first-place votes and 30 points overall, followed closely by UC Irvine, which earned a pair of first-place nods and 24 points. UC Riverside (14 points) and Cal State Fullerton (12) were picked third and fourth, respectively.
MARTIN DEL CAMP-"ING" WITH THE U.S.: In one of the better "What Did You Do Last Summer" stories for the Aggies, senior defender
Ramon Martin Del Campo had the "arduous" task of traveling to the Bahamas for a five-day camp with the U.S. U-23 Men's National Team and a friendly against the Bahamas National Team. One of 19 players (and seven defenders) originally called up, Martin del Campo entered the match against the Bahamas one minute into the second half and tallied an assist as part of an eventual 5-1 win for the Americans. He was discovered playing with his San Jose Earthquakes' U-23 Premier Development League squad, helping lead them to a 7-4-3 record and a third-place finish in the Western Conference in their inaugural season. He was an All-Premier Development League (best 11 players in the entire league) and All-Western Conference First Team selection and was one of three finalists for the league's Young (U-21) Player of the Year Award.
DAVIS DUO EARNS BIG WEST PRESEASON HONORS: Along with the preseason prognostications, the league's eight head coaches also bestowed preseason all-conference honors on 11 of the Big West's best, including the Aggies'
Ramon Martin Del Campo and
Matt Wiesenfarth.
MORE FOR THE MANTEL: UC Davis seniors
Matt Sheldon,
Brian Ford, and
Ramon Martin Del Campo were named to the first team, while senior
Matt Wiesenfarth added second-team laurels on Aug. 13, as College Sports Madness announced its preseason All-Big West Conference selections. The Aggies' three first-team selections match Cal State Northridge for the most in the league, while the four overall honorees stand behind only the Matadors and UC Santa Barbara, which finished with five selections apiece. For a complete list of the honorees, visit
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/9616.
ALL-TOURNEY HONOR ROLL: Junior midfielders
Lucas Mohageg and
Ian Palmer represented the Aggies on the all-tournament team of the Copa de Causeway, after accounting for both of UC Davis' goals in 1-1 draws against Air Force and Grand Canyon. The duo joined teammates
Kris Schultz,
Ramon Martin Del Campo, and
Ryan Gross, as all-tournament honorees this season after the trio were named to the 11-man all-tournament team at the Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic earlier this year at Ohio State.
TOP SHELF TALENT ACCORDING TO TOP DRAWER: Building upon what has already been an impressive preseason, senior defender
Ramon Martin Del Campo was named to Top Drawer Soccer's preseason list of the top 100 collegiate players in the United States. In a ranking that will be updated weekly, Martin Del Campo was one of five Big West players selected to the list, joining Cal State Northridge duo Sagi Lev-Ari and Edwin Rivas, UC Irvine's Mario Ortiz, and UC Santa Barbara's Ismaila Jome. Both Jome, a sophomore midfielder, and Lev-Ari, a senior forward, are also included on the "watch list" for this year's MAC Hermann Trophy awarded to the nation's top player. Fans can take a look at the entire list via the Top Drawer Soccer website at
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/college-soccer-preseason-top-100-players_aid33551.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE AGGIES: UC Davis returns its top five scorers and 12 letter winners (six starters) off of last season's squad that finished 9-9-3 overall and 4-4-2 in Big West Conference play, gaining the semifinals of the league tournament for the second-straight season. Five all-conference honorees are among the group, led by senior strikers
Matt Sheldon and
Matt Wiesenfarth (more on them later) and senior defenders
Brian Ford and
Ramon Martin Del Campo. Behind them, the loss of record-setting goalkeeper Omar Zeenni looms large, however, redshirt sophomore
Armando Quezada is poised to take over the reins after posting a 1.13 goals against average in five appearances -- including a pair of starts against nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara. Redshirt junior
Kris Schultz (1 career start vs. SMU in 2012) and junior
John Piasta will push Quezada in the quest for the starting job between the pipes.
BY THE NUMBERS: UC Davis returns all but three of its 20 goals scored (85%), 10 of its 18 assists (56%), and 163 of its 286 shots taken (57%), from last season's campaign. What does that all mean? We don't know, but numbers are fun.
COMING "HOME": After two seasons as an assistant coach with the women's soccer program at Augsburg College in Minnesota, former UC Davis letter winner
Chris Leer returns to his alma mater this season as an assistant under Head Coach
Dwayne Shaffer. Leer played under Shaffer from 2006-09, helping the Aggies to a pair of NCAA Division I Tournament berths in 2007 (first round) and 2008 (second round) while earning All-Big West Conference honorable mention honors as a senior. He finished his UC Davis career with 13 goals and seven assists (33 points), tying for second on the team in goals (5) as a sophomore and finishing second in both goals (4) and points (12) as a senior while starting all 19 matches. The Danville, Calif., native graduated from UC Davis with a degree in communication and sociology in 2011, earning his master's degree in kinesiology/sports and exercise science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2013.
SAME FACE, NEW PLACE: Long-time assistant
Jason Hotaling moves up one spot on the bench beginning with the 2014 campaign, promoted to the position of Assistant Head Coach under Shaffer with the departure of Eric Mild, who left to take over the men's soccer program at Pacific University in Oregon. Now entering his 10th season on the Aggies' sideline, Hotaling joined the UC Davis staff in 2005, reuniting with his former coach in Shaffer, whom he played for at Santa Rosa JC from 1991-92. He continues to manage the Aggies' recruiting efforts and training the team's goalkeepers.
THAT'S FRESH... MAN: Legendary college football coach Joe Paterno once said, "It's the name on the front of the jersey that matters most, not the one on the back." However, with 10 new faces on the roster for the 2014 season, names on the back might be a good idea to know who's who. The Aggies' 10 freshmen make up the largest incoming freshman class since UC Davis welcomed in 10 true freshmen in 2003.
