DAVIS, Calif. — Sophomore Lauren Bouvia wasted little time in getting the Aggies' "Senior Day" off to a great start, scoring just six minutes into the contest off a pass from senior human development major Crystal Crump to help lift host UC Davis to a, 1-0, shutout of UC Riverside in a must-win regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at Aggie Soccer Field.

The victory improved the Aggies to 7-7-4 overall and 4-2-2 in Big West Conference play, giving them 14 points and temporarily moving them into the fourth and final spot for next week's Big West Tournament.

UC Davis, which finished the regular season unbeaten in its last five (3-0-2) — including three of those via the shutout, ended with the most points in the Big West standings in school history and needs a loss or a draw by Hawai'i (currently with 12 points) against Cal State Fullerton to advance.

The Aggies' win total is the highest since they ended the 2016 season with a 7-8-4 overall record, while the four wins in league play are the most since UC Davis qualified for its first Big West Tournament with a 4-3-1 record in 2011.

Shutout for the second straight match, and the sixth time overall this season, the Highlanders ended their season at 11-4-3 overall and 2-4-2 in league play, despite out-shooting the Aggies, 12-7, for the match, but putting only three attempts on goal.

Bouvia, meanwhile, finished off her only shot of the match — and one of four shots on goal for UC Davis — with her first career score just 5:18 into the contest. Crump started the sequence by gathering the ball near field and threading a pass past two defenders for Bouvia to run on to at the top of the box.

The Weiser, Idaho, native then won a foot race to the ball with Riverside's Laura Perjanik, and fought through a tackle by the Highlanders' keeper, finishing with the left foot into an open net for the 1-0 lead.

The assist was Crump's first point of the season and the first for the Palmdale, Calif., native since assisting on Roisin Allaeddini's score in a 2-2 draw at Saint Mary's on Sept. 24, 2016. It was Crump's fifth assist of her career, giving her 17 career points over her four seasons as an Aggie.

Senior materials science and enginnering major Alexis Smith and the rest of the UC Davis defense then stood tall, as the fourth-year goalkeeper made stops on back-to-back attempts by Quinley Quezada and Darielle O'Brien in the 8th and 9th minutes, and survived a shot that hit the right post by O'Brien in the 14th minute to keep Riverside off the board.

Then, with the Highlanders building for the equalizer in the final minute, the Aggies had one last stand in them, blocking a shot by Brianna Saldana inside the six off a corner, and Smith smothering the rebound put on goal by Katie Wong with just over 10 seconds to play in regulation.

Sunday marked Smith's sixth shutout of the season, increasing her career record total to 25 and ranking tied for second on the program's Division I single-season list.

The 2018 Big West women's soccer tournament begins with the semifinals on Thursday (Nov. 1) at Anteater Stadium in Irvine, Calif. Top-seeded Long Beach State will face either UC Davis or Hawai'i in the first match at 5 p.m., with second-seeded UC Santa Barbara taking on third-seeded UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m.

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, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, 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.