THIS WEEK...
MATCH 4: UC Davis (1-1-1) at San Diego (1-1-1)
Friday, Sept. 9, 2016
7:00 p.m.
San Diego, Calif.
Torero Stadium
Game Coverage: | Video | UC Davis Notes | USD Men's Soccer

MATCH 5: UC Davis (1-1-1) at Loyola Marymount (2-2)
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016
4:00 p.m.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Sullivan Field
Game Coverage: | Video | LMU Men's Soccer

OPENING WHISTLE: The Aggies' season-long five-match road trip rolls on with a stop in Southern California this week, as the UC Davis men's soccer team (1-1-1 overall) takes on another pair of West Coast Conference foes. The Aggies open on Friday (Sept. 9) in "America's Finest City," taking on San Diego at 7 p.m. at Torero Stadium. UC Davis then heads north to Los Angeles to take on Loyola Marymount on Sunday (Sept. 11) at 4 p.m. at Sullivan Field.

IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, San Diego, nor Loyola Marymount, are ranked nationally entering this week's matches.

BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis athletics by following us on Facebook (/ucdavisaggies) and Twitter (@UCDavisAggies), while the men's soccer program is available on Twitter (@UCDavisMSOC). Live in-game updates for home contests are also available on Twitter by following us @UCDavisInGame.

I NEED STATS, STAT!: Barring technical difficulties, live stats for all UC Davis home matches, as well as select road contests, are available on your computer and mobile devices courtest the StatBroadcast platform. Visit the men's soccer schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com or the UC Davis StatBroadcast landing page at UCDavisLiveStats.com to access the links.

SAN DIEGO BRIEFLY: The Toreros enter the week with a 1-1-1 overall record following a 5-2 loss at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 2... That followed an unbeaten showing at the John Rennie Nike Invitational in Durham, N.C., where San Diego and Duke finished in a 1-1 draw, and the Toreros posted a 2-1 win over Elon... Freshman Miguel Berry has two of the team's five goals to lead the way, with three other players finding the back of the net this year... Junior Thomas Olsen has played every minute in net for USD, posting a 2.17 goals against average and 10 saves.

VERSUS THE TOREROS: The series between UC Davis and San Diego, 1-1-1, as the two programs will meet for the first time since 2014... This will be the third meeting between the two in San Diego, with the Aggies posting a 2-1 double-overtime win in 2008, and the Toreros responding with a 1-0 victory in 2013... The two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Aggie Soccer Field on Sept. 7, 2014.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT BRIEFLY: The Lions have won two straight thanks to victories over Florida Gulf Coast (2-1) and Grand Canyon (1-0) last week at home, following one-goal defeates at Colgate (1-0) and Syracuse (2-1 in 2OT)... LMU will host Sacramento State on Friday (Sept. 9) before welcoming UC Davis to town to close out a four-match homestand... Sophomore Antonio Porreco and senior Adrien Perez share the team lead with a goal and an assist each... Junior Collin Partee has played every minute in net, posting a 0.97 GAA and 23 saves.

VERSUS THE LIONS: After a year's hiatus, the Lions and the Aggies will meet for the first time since 2014 with Loyola Marymount leading the series, 1-0-2... This will be the third time in four meetings between the two that will be played in Los Angeles... All three of the previous meetings have gone to overtime... Following a 1-0 loss at LMU in 1994, the last two meetings have ended in 1-1 draws, including the last meeting at Aggie Soccer Field on Sept. 5, 2014.

SHOOTING BLANKS: When the Aggies took down Pacific, 2-0, to open their five-match road trip, UC Davis logged its second shutout in as many matches to kick-off the 2016 campaign -- the first time since 2012 when the Aggies started the year with a 1-0 triumph over UNLV and scoreless draws at CSU Bakersfield and Air Force.

BRACE YOURSELF: Sophomore Kristian Heptner showcased his scoring touch by finding the back of the net twice in the win over Pacific -- his first scores in nearly a year since netting his first career goal as part of a 3-2 win over Wisconsin on Sept. 6, 2015. Heptner, who has led the Aggies in shots in each of the last two matches, paces UC Davis with seven attempts -- putting five of those on frame.

BIG TIME IN THE BIG WEST: Heptner's quick start has him among the Big West Conference leaders three matches in, standing eighth in shots, fifth in shots per game (2.33), tied for fifth in points, fourth in points per game (1.33), and tied for third in both goals and goals per game (0.67).

QUE-"NADA" IN NET: Senior goalkeeper Armando Quezada logged his second shutout of the season last week against Pacific, giving him nine for his career and putting him just two back of Ryan McCowan (2007-10) for fifth on the progam's all-time list. Quezada is halfway to the career record held by Omar Zeenni (2010-13), who had 18 clean sheets during her stellar four-year career.

TWO FOR THE WIN: A 2-0 win over the Tigers gave the Aggies their 10th straight win when scoring two (or more) goals dating back to a, 3-2, overtime defeat at the hands of Sacramento State on Nov. 1, 2014.

MINUTE MEN: It's been tough to get senior Dashiell MacNamara and sophomore Roy Boateng off the field this season as the duo are the only two players who have gone the distance in each of the team's first three matches of the 2016 campaign. The 290 minutes continues an impressive run for Boateng, who has played every minute of every match for the Aggies since coming off the bench and playing 13 minutes in the 2015 season opener against Seattle -- a total of 2305:12 entering this week's contests.

WELCOME TO THE WCC?: The Aggies may be able to apply for membership in the West Coast Conference this season as they will face six of the league's eight men's soccer playing members -- missing only Gonzaga and Santa Clara -- continuing with this week's matches against San Diego and Loyola Marymount. According to records that date back to 1990, UC Davis is a combined 9-12-7 against WCC opponents, having its nine-match unbeaten streak (4-0-5) snapped against WCC members with its loss at San Francisco last week. Prior to that, the Aggies' last defeat to a WCC member was at San Diego on Sept. 20, 2013.

OWN IT: In its Division I history, the Aggies have been on the wrong end of five "own goals" before the tables finally turned in their favor against San Francisco last week. UC Davis was first on the board against the Dons in the 10th minute as a defender headed a ball past his own keeper to give the Aggies a 1-0 advantage. It was the first "own goal" to fall in UC Davis' favor dating back to Sept. 9, 2007, as part of a 3-3 draw against Portland -- a match that also featured an "own goal" for the Pilots.

SHAFFER'S MARCH TO 200: Now in his 20th season at the helm of the Aggie program, UC Davis Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer enters the 2016 campaign just 10 wins shy No. 200 for his Division I coaching career, carrying a 190-156-48 record in 20 seasons -- 183 of those coming in his 19-plus years at UC Davis -- when you include his one year at Dayton. Overall, Shaffer has accumulated a total of 242 wins as a head coach at UC Davis (19 years), Dayton (one year), and Santa Rosa Junior College (four years).

ROAD KILLED: With their win at Pacific on Sept. 1, the Aggies snapped a seven-match winless streak (0-5-2) in true road openers dating back to a 2-1 double-overtime triumph at San Diego on Sept. 19, 2008.

OH NO, NOT OT: In what has, seemingly, become a regular occurance, better than half of UC Davis' 44 matches over the last two-plus seasons have gone past the regulation 90 minutes, as the Aggies have played 23 overtime contests in that span -- with 18 of those 23 going to double overtime -- posting a 6-4-13 mark in those matches. The nine draws by UC Davis during the 2014 season tied an NCAA single-season record (and set a Big West single-season record) at the time, while the 14 overtime contests overall that same season were a new NCAA record.

#AGGIESINTHEPROS: Former UC Davis men's soccer standouts shining on the professional stage include: Quincy Amarikwa (San Jose Earthquakes/MLS), Matt Sheldon (OC Blues/USL), Elliott Hord (Sacramento Republic FC/USL), Kris Schultz (Canterbury United FC/New Zealand ASB Premiership), Matt Wiesenfarth (Canterbury United FC/New Zealand ASB Premiership), Ahmad Hatifie (C.D. Aguiluchos USA/NPSL), and Ramon Martin Del Campo (FC Puerto Rico/NASL).

RECYCLED NOTES
WEEKLY HONORS FOR BOATENG: Spearheading a defense that held the Spartans to just one shot on goal, sophomore Roy Boateng was named the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29 for the first time in his career. Boateng became the first UC Davis weekly honoree since Lucas Mohageg (offensive) and Brian Ford (defensive) swept the weekly awards on Oct. 20, 2014.

BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL: UC Davis was picked to finish third overall in the Big West Conference's North Division and finished sixth overall as league office released the preseason coaches poll on Aug. 17. The Aggies received 18 points to finish just one point back of second-place Cal Poly in the North, while UC Santa Barbara recevied all eight first-place votes to finish atop the division. Two-time defending conference tournament champion Cal State Fullerton recevied seven of the eight first-place votes and was picked to win the South Division with 31 points, standing ahead of UC Irvine (one first-place vote) and CSUN, which tied for second with 20 points. Sacramento State (11 points) in the North, and UC Riverside (nine points) in the South, were picked to finish fourth in their respective divisions.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE AGGIES: UC Davis returns 17 letter winners -- including six starters -- and 20 players overall off of last season's roster as the Aggies look to improve on an 8-10-3 overall record and a 3-4-3 mark (third in the North Division) in Big West play. UC Davis has lost three of its top four scorers, bringing back just over half of its 29 goals. Sophomore defender Roy Boateng, who was an All-Big West honorable mention and all-freshman team selection a season ago, is the leading returning scorer after netting four goals and an assist, while starting 20 of the team's 21 matches on the back line. Junior winger Evan Barrett also returns after scoring twice and assisting on three other goals. In goal, Armando Quezada is the senior incumbent after posting a 1.42 goals against average and 27 saves in nine matches.

BY THE NUMBERS: UC Davis returns just 15 of its 29 goals (52%) spread out among 11 returning goal scorers, 15 of its 26 assists (58%), 167 of its 293 shots (57%), and 27 of its 75 (36%) saves, from a season ago. What does it all mean? We don't know, but numbers are fun.

OUR HOUSE: The Aggies defended their home turf well last season, finishing 5-2-2 overall at the Aggie Soccer Field and posting their sixth-straight winning season at home. UC Davis has posted a winning record on its home pitch in eight of their nine Division I seasons, including an unbeaten 7-0-3 mark in 2008 en route to an NCAA Tournament berth. Overall, the Aggies are a combined 99-47-21 (.656) at home in 19-plus seasons under Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer, and haven't suffered a losing campaign at home since 2009 (3-4) -- the ONLY losing season at home under Shaffer's direction.

STATE OF THE AGGIES: The 2016 UC Davis roster will feature a majority of Californians, but four Aggies on this year's roster hail from outside the "Golden State," the most in the program's Division I Era since the 2011 and 2012 squads had the same number. Freshman goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley (Washington), junior transfer Chase Rhode (North Carolina), and Montana natives Kyle Higgins and Adam Mickelson, each represent the first Aggies from those states since the program made the jump to Division I in 2007. Other out-of-state Aggies include: Arizona's Ian Palmer, Oregon's Matt Sheldon, Colorado's Lance Patterson, and imports Kirk Kappelhoff (Australia) and Riley Newport (British Columbia).

THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENDER: After finishing his first season third on the team in scoring with four goals and nine points overall, sophomore All-Big West defender Roy Boateng looks to continue a recent trend that has seen an Aggie defensive player also show well on the offensive side of the ball. The leading returning scorer for UC Davis in 2016, Boateng looks to build off the work of former back line mate Lucas Mohageg, who shared the team lead in scoring in 2014 (four goals, 10 points) and paced the 2015 squad (seven goals, 18 points) last year.

AGGIE FUTBOL FUN FACTS
• UC Davis has qualified for the Big West Tournament in each of the last five years -- the only league member to accomplish that feat...

• The 14 different goal scorers last season were the most since the 1999 Aggie squad finished with 16 players finding the back of the net...

• The 29 goals scored last season as a team finished third in the Big West -- surpassing the team's total from each of the two previous years and ranks third on the single-season chart in the program's Division I Era...

• UC Davis is 9-5-2 (.625) against the Big West South since the league began divisional play in 2012 -- posting the second-highest win total and the second-best winning percentage in the conference (UC Santa Barbara, .813)...

• Since their league debut in 2007, the Aggies have posted 42 Big West victories -- tied with Cal Poly for second among league members behind only perennial power UC Santa Barbara (59).