IRVINE, Calif. — Making its first appearance in the Big West Conference Tournament since 2011, the UC Davis women's soccer team had the unenviable task of taking on the league's regular season champion and top-seeded squad in the tournament's first semifinal on Thursday night.
It was a quick rematch against a Long Beach State squad that had battled the Aggies in a wild, 3-3, draw just a week ago, one that saw UC Davis rebound from a two-goal deficit to tie the match for good early in the second half but, this time, the 49ers were able to snuff out an Aggie rally, scoring the lone goal of the match in the 49th minute en route to a 1-0 victory at Anteater Stadium in Irvine, Calif.
UC Davis ends its 2018 season with a 7-8-4 overall record and a 4-2-2 mark in Big West play, ending the year with the most wins overall since the 2016 squad finished with the same record and finishing with 14 points in the conference standings — the most-ever by an Aggie squad.
Long Beach State improved to 11-5-3 overall and advanced to face second-seeded UC Santa Barbara in Sunday's championship match after the Gauchos shutout host UC Irvine, 1-0.
Following a scoreless first half that saw the teams combine for seven shots and each goalkeeper stop two shots, it was the 49ers who broke up the shutout in the 50th minute as Katie Pingel sent a ball in from the left side that found its way to the feet of teammate Dana Fujikuni inside the six, who put a shot off the left post that trickled across the line for the 1-0 advantage.
Now chasing a goal, the Aggies began to press forward taking the next three shots — including a header by senior biological sciences major
Ari Zamora that was smothered by Long Beach State goalkeeper Imani McDonald — and four of the next six attempts overall.
Senior materials science and engineering major
Alexis Smith, who finished with five saves in her final match as an Aggie, kept her side close with a pair of stops on three attempts in a 13 second span in the 73rd minute, stopping a 1-v-1 with Elysia Laramie before the rebound was blocked out by a defender to Sierra Castles, who put a chip shot from 30 yards right into the arms of Smith.
UC Davis had three more attempts to tie the match in the later minutes, but could not dent the back of the net as senior biological sciences major
Kristie Braken-Guelke put a shot off a set piece high and sophomore
Lauren Bouvia had a header off a corner by anthropology major
Laura Nichol sail just high. Sophomore international relations major
Mahlah Catline had the final attempt in the 87th minute, gathering a long pass before sending a half volley that was corralled by McDonald.
The 49ers held a 13-9 advantage in the shot column, paced by three apiece from Kayla Cannon and Castles, while Zamora,
Casey Palmer, and Catline, each had a pair to pace the Aggies. Smith's performance brought her season total to 78 — ranking her eighth on the single-season list — while amassing 283 saves in her career, ranking her second only to Krista Hull and her 323 stops.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Long Beach State Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia
(Opening statement)
"I just want to congratulate UC Davis, that's one of the best Davis teams that we've seen. And we've seen them twice now in the last week and we've had a heck of a battle up at their place, and they gave us another battle here and we're fortunate to score the goal. It settled down a bit after that, but I want to congratulate them because they had a stellar season. And I want to congratulate my players, especially my senior class. They are the rock of the program and they've stepped up for the last 12 months, and they're getting rewarded now. There's been a lot of setbacks but they've bounced back each and every time. I'm just so proud of them, and proud of these two right here, so proud of all of them. And we're excited to be playing in our 4th final in five seasons and we're happy to say that Long Beach State is always in the conversation."
(On Dana Fujikuni)
"First of all, Dana is one of the best people and a pleasure to coach. She came in and she was a little nervous at first, but she grew each season. She's a tireless worker and she has a great heart for the team. But this year she stepped up to a whole new level, it was almost like the game became easy for her. And sometimes you see that when players mature, and as a fifth year senior that grows and matures and leads and feels the responsibility of the program, I think that's what we saw this season. And she's been rewarded, she carried our team for a long time while Ashley was finidng her form again. And her engine is second to none, she's a tireless worker. We're really going to miss her next year and we won't be able to replace her. But hopefully we'll be able to reinvent our midfield a little bit without Dana, but we're very proud of her."
Long Beach State senior midfielder Dana Fujikuni
(on weight of semifinal matchup)
"Every game we come to is a championship game and we have to treat it like that. We can't just come out casual. Every game we have to get in that mindset and that's how we come out strong."
Long Beach State senior goalkeeper Imani McDonald
(on what made the difference tonight)
"Coming into this game, we absolutely wanted revenge given that we believe that we should've won. I'll take fault for two of the goals, so I owed my team a much better performance. And after we scored I knew that we had to hold it down including the back four, so I'm happy to come out on top for this one. But absolutely, we got to be there for our teammates."
UC Davis Head Coach Twila Kaufman
(Opening statement)
"First of all hats off to Long Beach State, for finding a way to score a goal against us. We wish them well. I'm just a little bittersweet because we're super proud of these seniors, and obviously not so happy about the result but that's part of soccer. And Ari has been an amazing captain for us so I'll let her do most of the talking. She's gone 10 points, 11 points, 11 points and 14 points just like that in her career here. And she definitely belongs and it wasn't by accident and we're super proud of her."
UC Davis senior midfielder Ari Zamora
(on senior class)
"It started with my freshman year we had a very strong senior class, and we were actuallyTwila's first first recruiting class. And when she brought us in she said that we were going to be the class that makes history. Every year we progressed and grew closer and closer. I personally think that every single year that this group of girls has gone through so much adversity and we've all come together and supported each other on and off the field, and that has helped our team grow so much every year. And to continue to make history every single year is something I'm so proud of, and so grateful for Twila to just guide us through it. She's always been our biggest supporter and has always pushed us, and without that we wouldn't be here today. Like Twila said hats off to Long Beach, but I don't want to hear anything less or that anyone is not proud of us because we continue to keep breaking barriers. And I don't want this program to be unseen, because we are all brought here to do something special. And they're going to make history, we're going to win it one year, and I believe this group of girls has the talent and tenacity to do it."
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.
