Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. ââ'¬" Although No. 5 Syracuse found the back of the cage on three occasions, a combined effort by the Aggie defense and a record-setting game for sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow, limited the Orange to just two goals for 67 minutes of the 70-minute contest. But UC Davis could not answer the Orange offense, resulting in a 3-0 win for SU over UC Davis.

The Aggies will enter their next game against No. 20 Harvard with an 0-2 mark. The Orange will host Bucknell with a 3-0 record.

It was a defensive battle for the books during Monday's home contest against Syracuse. The Orange scored their first goal 14 minutes into the first period and their second just six minutes later. But the Orange offense was kept silent for the rest of the first half and nearly all of the second; their third goal was scored in the 67th minute.

Defensive saves by Kate Young and Summer Borsack, as well as an outstanding performance by UC Davis's goalkeeper, Chelsea Bigelow, made for an impressive defensive effort that was able to keep the pressure on the Syracuse offense.

"We came out today to compete and win as a team, and I am very proud of the way our winners' mentality persisted throughout the whole game," said head coach Britt Broady.

"We were very consistent over the entire 70 minutes which is something you usually see in mature squads," Broady added. "To watch this young team sustain their composure in just our second game of the year is really impressive and something that will take us far moving forward."

BIGELOW COMES UP BIG
Monday's double-digit effort by goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow placed her in the all-time record books at UC Davis. Posting 15 saves against No. 5 Syracuse, she is now tied with Lauren Sawvelle (2010) for third highest saves in a game. Bigelow's performance placed her just one save shy of the school record, which was also posted by Sawvelle in 2009 and 2010 against Radford and Stanford, respectively.

"Today's game was an unbelievable performance by a goalkeeper who has the biggest heart there is," Broady said. "She was the backbone of our defense and her strong presence in the cage brought out the best in our defenders."

In addition to climbing the ranks in the record books, the sophomore shattered her own records from her first season as an Aggie; more than doubling her previous season-high of six saves in a 2016 game against Boston University. In today's contest alone, Bigelow matched the number of saves notched during her entire 2016 season, in which she earned 15 saves across six games.

"It's always easier to relax when the first game is over and the jitters are out," said Bigelow. "Coming into the game against Syracuse today, I wanted to focus on playing my game and just go for it."

"The defense was making great plays throughout the whole game, which really kept me fired up," she added.

The sociology major has kicked off her 2017 campaign on a high note, and will have the chance to do even more damage to the record books in the coming week when UC Davis hosts Harvard on Sept. 1st and Iowa on Sept. 4th.

GOING FORWARD
The Aggies will host two more games in the upcoming week, both against ranked teams, before traveling to Michigan and Rhode Island.

"We now know what our standard is for practice as far as our effort and intensity levels," said Broady. "Our goal is to have basic skills and decision-making processes challenged in the pace of game play during every practice."

The Aggies will host No. 20 Harvard on Sept. 1st at 2 pm, and are scheduled to face No. 17 Iowa the following Monday at 12 pm.

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