Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Zuzu Romano nearly scored the equalizer in the 81st minute of Thursday's Big West Conference match at Aggie Soccer Field, and one of Andi Damian's two shots nearly found the back of the net, but UC Irvine's goal, scored in the 50th minute, helped the Anteaters defeat the Aggies 1-0.

UC Davis will enter Sunday's 1 p.m. home match vs. UC Riverside with a 5-7-3 overall and 1-2-1 Big West record. UC Irvine now holds respective records of 10-4-1 and 2-0-1.

A long ball to Romano, which took place late in the second half, created a dangerous scoring opportunity for the Aggies late in the match. Once the ball became airborne, Romano spun around her defender, and sprinted towards UCI's net.

At the same time, the Anteaters' goalkeeper darted off her line and sprinted in Romano's direction since a 1v1 opportunity now presented itself to both players. Knowing that a fraction of a second would decide the eventual outcome, Romano tried to toe poke the ball over a sliding goalkeeper as soon as she had an opportunity to do so, but the ball sailed right into her opposition's hands.

Even though a combined 16 shots took place, each team generated one legitimate scoring opportunity in Thursday's match, with inches separating the ultimate outcome.

For UC Davis, if the pass that set up Romano had a fraction less pace, she would have easily tied the match with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. A limited scoring lane was available for UCI's one-touch scoring opportunity, and its shot eluded the reach of Aggie goalkeeper Alexis Smith, who became parallel with the ground in an attempt to deflect that shot - one that ended up bouncing off the far post into the net.

UC Davis' three-match homestand will continue on Sunday against the Highlanders, links for live stats and a video stream are available at UCDavisAggies.com.