THIS WEEK…
Cal Poly (4-4-1, 0-0) at #17 UC Davis (7-1-2, 0-0)
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 | 4:00 p.m. PT | Aggie Soccer Field | Davis, Calif.
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FOLLOW: Live Stats | Watch Live | Tickets

#17 UC Davis (7-1-2, 0-0) at CSUN (6-4, 0-0)
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018 | 7:00 p.m. PT | Matador Soccer Field | Northridge, Calif.
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TV: None
FOLLOW: Live Stats

OPENING WHISTLE: The 'second season' for the No. 16 UC Davis men's soccer team begins this week, as the Aggies play host to Cal Poly on Wednesday (Oct. 3) at 4 p.m., before hitting the road for Southern California to take on CSUN on Saturday (Oct. 6) at 7 p.m. in Northridge.

PROMOS: UC Davis soccer scarves, a popular collectible in recent years, will be given away to the first 200 fans in attendance for Wednesday's match against Cal Poly. If you miss out, another bunch will be handed out prior to the Aggies' women's soccer match against UC Irvine on Oct. 14.

IN THE POLLS: UC Davis moved up one spot to No. 16 in the nation according to the latest United Soccer Coaches poll released on Tuesday (Oct. 2), ranked among the top 25 for the fifth consecutive week — its longest run since appearing in the polls for 10 straight weeks during the regular season from Sept. 16-Nov. 18, 2008, en route to a final No. 19 ranking… The Aggies are still ranked No. 2 in the Far West Region, trailing only Air Force (10-1)… UC Davis moved up four spots to No. 21 in this week's College Soccer News poll, and made its season debut in the Top Drawer Soccer top 25 this week, entering at No. 23 in the nation… CSUN is one of 15 teams receiving votes in this week's College Soccer News poll and stands No. 6 in the Far West Region according to the United Soccer Coaches… Cal Poly is unranked.

RPI RISING: Along with its jump in the polls, UC Davis also made a monumental jump in the second NCAA RPI ranking of the 2018 season on Monday (Oct. 1), entering the week ranked No. 14 in the nation — the highest-ranked team in the Big West and up 17 spots from No. 31 in last week's ranking.

BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis men's soccer by "liking" them on Facebook (/UCDavisMensSoccer) and following the Aggies on Twitter (@UCDavisMSOC).

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly enters the start of conference play with a 4-4-1 overall record after coming up with a big non-conference rivalry win over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday night by the score of 1-0 in front of 11,075 fans… The Mustangs have won two straight — and three of their last four — heading into Wednesday's match against UC Davis, and will face UC Riverside at home later in the week… Senior forward Sean Goode leads the team offensively with three goals and seven points, while sophomore midfielder Emmanuel Perez and junior forward Diego Alonso have each scored twice… Senior goalkeeper Simon Boehme has played the majority of minutes in net for Cal Poly, posting a 1.26 goals against average and 41 saves in 716 minutes to go along with three shutouts.

SERIES NOTES: Cal Poly holds a narrow, 14-13-2, lead in the series with UC Davis dating back to 1990, after the Aggies snapped a four-match (0-3-1) winless streak against the Mustangs with a, 2-1, win on Oct. 25 of last season in San Luis Obispo, Calif… UC Davis is 8-6 at home against Cal Poly, losing the last two following a three-match winning streak… Six of the last 10 meetings between the two program's have gone to overtime, with the two teams even at 2-2-2 in those contests.

ABOUT THE MATADORS: CSUN enters conference play with a 6-4 overall record and will open at reigning Big West Tournament champion Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday before hosting the Aggies… The Matadors have lost two straight following a three-match winning streak that saw them upset No. 17 Cornell (3-1) and No. 11 UCLA (2-1) in that stretch, falling to Loyola Marymount (2-1) and San Diego (1-0) since then… CSUN is 3-1 at home this season… Sophomore forward Daniel Trejo leads the team offensively with 16 points on six goals and four assists, while junior forward Johnny Rodriguez and freshman forward Wolfgang Prentice are tied for second with 10 points apiece on four goals and two assists… Senior goalkeeper Henrik Regitnig has played all but 90 minutes between the pipes, posting a 1.00 goals against average and 34 saves to go with two shutouts.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis holds a, 9-7-5, lead in the series with CSUN dating back to 2005 after the Aggies posted a, 4-2, victory over the Matadors at home in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament… UC Davis is 4-4-3 on the road against CSUN, falling to the Matadors by a 2-1 score in its last trip to the San Fernando Valley on Sept. 29, 2016… The Aggies' last win in Northridge came on Nov. 7, 2015, in another Big West Tournament battle, posting a 2-1 win in overtime on Matt Wiesenfarth's game-winner… Eight of the 21 meetings between the two program's have finished in overtime — including four of the last six — with the Aggies posting a 3-0-5 mark in those contests.

WRIGHT HONORED BY BIG WEST, COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS: In the right place at the right time for the No. 17-ranked UC Davis men's soccer team last week, senior political science major Justin Wright picked up a pair of honors on Monday afternoon, named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week while also earning a spot on College Soccer News' National Team of the Week. The award is the first of Wright's career and the fourth for an Aggie student-athlete in six weeks along with teammates Wallis Lapsley (Aug. 27 and Sept. 24) and Roy Boateng (Sept. 10). In addition, Wright became the second UC Davis player to earn National Team of the Week honors this season from College Soccer News, joining Lapsley, who earned his spot back on Aug. 27. Read the complete release here: http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/news/2018/10/1/mens-soccer-wright-honored-by-big-west-college-soccer-news.aspx.

AGGIE TWITTER NOTES…
• The 7-1-2 record marks the most regular season non-conference wins for the Aggies since the 2008 squad finished 8-1
• The four Big West players of the week this season matches last year's total, while the 2008 and 2014 squads won a school-record five weekly awards
• Wright its the first Aggie to be named the league's offensive player of the week since Lizandro Torres on Sept. 11 of last season, snapping a run of six consecutive defensive player of the week award winners
• Wright's two goals against Sacramento State is the first brace by an Aggie this season and the first since Kyle Higgins did so against the Hornets on Oct. 29 of last year
• Of the Aggies' three non-wins this season, Creighton (No. 8) and Saint Mary's (No. 9) are among the top 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, while Oregon State is receiving votes according to United Soccer Coaches and stands No. 28 in the College Soccer News poll.
• Senior managerial economics major Roy Boateng and sophomore biological sciences major Jake Haupt are the only two Aggies to have played all 948 minutes this season
• UC Davis is 5-5-1 all-time in Big West openers, winning four of its last five following a 2-0 win over UC Irvine at home last season
• The Aggies have never opened conference play against Cal Poly
• UC Davis opens conference play at home for sixth time in 12 years, posting a 3-2 record in its previous five
• The Aggies have gone to overtime in a Big West opener three times, but not since 2010 — the last in a run of three-straight double overtime contests from 2008-10
• UC Davis is unbeaten (7-0-2) in its last nine true road contests dating back to a 2-0 loss at UC Riverside on Oct. 7 of last season

WHERE THEY RANK… NCAA (top 100 as of Oct. 1)
• Lapsley: shutouts (20th); goals against average (14th); save percentage (6th); saves per game (34th); saves (14th); minutes played (21st)
• Mickelson: assists per game (87th); assists (t43rd)
• Mejia: assists (t43rd)
• TEAM: scoring offense (47th); goals (31st), goals against average (14th); shutout percentage (44th); winning percentage (17th); shot accuracy (50th); assists per game (48th); saves per game (35th); points per game (46th); save percentage (6th); assists (37th); points (35th); shots (76th); shots on goal per game (45th)

WHERE THEY RANK… BIG WEST (as of Oct. 1)
• Mickelson: shots (t9th); points (t6th); points per game (t8th); goals (t10th); assists (t1st); assists per game (t2nd)
• Mejia: points per game (7th); assists (t1st); assists per game (1st)
• Wood: assists per game (t5th)
• Lapsley: goals against average (1st); save percentage (1st); saves (1st); saves per game (2nd); shutouts (t1st); shutouts per game (1st)
• TEAM: shots (3rd); points (3rd); goals (3rd); goals per game (3rd); assists (3rd); assists per game (3rd); goals allowed (1st); goals against average (1st); saves (2nd); shutouts (t2nd); fouls (2nd); corners (3rd); offsides (5th)

RECYCLED NOTES
ABOUT THE AGGIES: UC Davis clinched the Big West North Division title and advanced to the league tournament championship match for the second time in the program's history, capping off a year that saw the Aggies finish 11-7-3 overall and 7-2-1 in Big West play… The 11 victories overall were the most wins since 2008 (13-5-4) and were the third-most in the program's history… Junior Adam Mickelson leads the returning group on offense after scoring four goals and assisting on seven others a season ago, pacing the squad with 15 points… Senior Matt Baringer also returns after scoring five times and finishing with 12 points on the year… Junior Wallis Lapsley is the incumbent in net, starting all 21 matches while posting a 1.32 goals against average and 58 saves to go with four shutouts.

AGGIES PICKED FOURTH IN BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL: The reigning Big West North Division champions received 40 points overall and a first-place vote to boot as the Aggies were picked to finish fourth in a revamped single eight-team league table according to a vote of the conference's head coaches. UC Davis was picked to finish behind reigning tournament champion Cal State Fullerton (57 points, four first-place votes), UC Santa Barbara (55 points, three first-place votes), and CSUN (47 points).

TRIO NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE: For the second straight season, the Aggies dominated the preseason all-conference team, placing a league-best three players on the 11-member squad in senior Roy Boateng, junior Adam Mickelson, and sophomore Nabi Kibunguchy. The trio becomes the sixth, seventh, and eighth, UC Davis student-athletes named to the preseason all-conference team since the league began the practice prior to the 2012 season. Read the complete release: http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/news/2018/8/16/mens-soccer-aggies-place-three-on-preseason-all-league-team.aspx.

UC DAVIS BIG WEST PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM SELECTIONS
2018: Roy Boateng, Adam Mickelson, Nabi Kibunguchy
2017: Noah Wilson, Kyle Higgins, Evan Barrett
2014: Ramon Martin Del Campo, Matt Wiesenfearth
2012: Matt Wiesenfarth

DON'T MISS OUT!
The ninth-annual UC Davis Athletics Brewfest takes place as part of the October 13 Homecoming football game against Idaho State... Tickets for the Brewfest plus the Aggies-Bengals game are now on sale by clicking here... The Brewfest celebrates UC Davis as the No. 1 academic brewing program in North America... The ticket package includes unlimited tastings at the UC Davis Brewfest, a commemorative tasting mug, and a ticket to the game.

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.