April 24, 2018

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DAVIS, Calif. -- With Saturday's resounding 23-12 home finale victory over Fresno State, UC Davis women's lacrosse secured the top seed in this weekend's three-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. The Aggies earned the lone by through the semifinals into Sunday's championship game, which takes place at 1 p.m. at San Diego State's Aztec Lacrosse Field.

The Picnic Day win illustrates how far the Aggies have come in the 79 days spanning the season-opening loss to California and the conference title contest. After all, Fresno State had upset the Golden Bears just days before the first Aggies-Bulldogs meeting on April 11. UC Davis overcame a 9-6 deficit in that contest to take a 12-11 victory, but then never trailed in Saturday's MPSF rematch. Furthermore, the 23-goal output is tied for fourth in the Aggie record book, and the highest since the 2012 season.

"We played a great game from end to end," said head coach Suzanne Isidor. "It was a combination of a lot of factors: we had the emotion of Senior Day and Picnic Day with us. We talked about how those could go in any direction, but we channeled our emotions and that's why we did really well. I could not have asked for much more on that day."

Sophomore Amanda Outcalt enjoyed a second-half outburst in each of the back-to-back meetings with FSU. She had two goals and an assist during the team's 5-0 run in the April 11 meeting, then scored or assisted four of the goals in her team's 11-2 finish to the April 21 matchup. The latter earned her MPSF Offensive Player of the Week honors. Overall, UC Davis swept Monday's conference weekly awards slate, with midfielder Mar Alvear earning her third Rookie of the Week nod and low defender Ally Deremer claiming her first Defensive Player of the Week award.

Between Deremer, Cuenin and goalkeeper Grace Richards, UC Davis has claimed five conference defensive awards this year. However, having the honor go to a low defender is particularly satisfying, since the likes of Deremer, Addie Dearden, Natalie Garces and Anna Belenis do not often show up as prominently on the boxscore as the midfielders and attackers. Goals and assists jump off the stat sheet in a way that face-guarding and clearing do not, yet that defensive effort proves pivotal in the team's success. For example, Garces apperas on Saturday's boxscore for two steals and four ground balls, but her greatest contribution was matching up with Sarah Bloise, Fresno State's junior midfielder and leading scorer. Bloise was held to no goals or assists in the conference-clinching game.

"That group is awesome." said Isidor. "How they play together and feed off each other, their confidence in themselves and in each other, it's awesome. They are truly a unit. They have each other's backs and they have fun doing it. They are fun to watch and they give a lot of confidence to our team."

The Aggies have also come a long way on the offensive side of the ball, mostly in the breadth of the attack. In the season opener, Outcalt and junior Taylor Cuenin literally accounted for the scoring output. And while Cuenin (37 goals) and Outcalt (28 goals, 9 assists) still lead the offense, six other players averaged at least one goal per game in the three matchups against MPSF members: Alvear, Sorana Larson, Kelsey DeJesus, Kate Graham, Shannon Cross and Kate Fellner.

"We've talked about how far we've come. We've gone from being one-dimensional and a bunch of individuals on attack, to being a real unit," Isidor said. "If you stop one person, other people step up. If you stop one thing, there are other things we can do. That has developed from Game 1 to Game 13."

Despite a 3-0 record against the other two MPSF teams, Isidor and UC Davis know better than to underestimate either possible opponent. In the last trip down to Aztec Lacrosse Field, the Aggies battled their hosts to five ties and even faced a second-half deficit before back-to-back Alvear goals ignited a 7-0 finish to the game. And in the first meeting with Fresno State, UC Davis did not take its first lead until the 48th minute.

Fresno State's Bloise leads the MPSF in points per game (3.41), thanks to a league-leading 39 goals and 19 assists. The Bulldogs also rank sixth nationally in free-position shooting, meaning UC Davis will want to keep that team off the eight-meter mark as much as possible. (FSU was 3-for-3 last Saturday, but 0-for-4 in the previous meeting.)

Meanwhile, San Diego State's Harlowe Steele leads the country in shooting percentage at .586, slightly ahead of Cuenin's .578. Both players rate among the top 20 nationally. Steele and Jill Haight (34 goals) provide the Aztecs with a 1-2 scoring punch as junior midfielders, while goalkeeper Katy Sherretts â€" who sat out the previous meeting with the Aggies â€" leads the MPSF with 159 saves (9.94 per game). SDSU is also among the top Div. I teams on the draw, although UC Davis impressively won that battle by a 19-7 margin in the 2018 meeting.

"No matter who plays who in our conference, we know it will be a good game," said Isidor. "Just because we have beaten each team doesn't mean we will beat them again. We have all played each other, and we all know each other's tendencies. It's really the execution on game day that is going to matter."

Live video will be provided by CBSi Advanced Media at the MPSF website, while live stats for Sunday's championship will be available via StatBroadcast, with a link to be added to following Friday's semifinal. See above for links.
 

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QUICK STICKS: Junior Taylor Cuenin surpassed the century mark for career goals, entering this weekend with 102 total... That moved her ahead of Jaime Fitzpatrick (2000-03) for 10th in school history, and two behind Megan O'Connor (2004-07) for ninth... Cuenin's two CTs on Saturday raised her season total to 22 and her career sum to 92, moving her past O'Connor for second in Aggie annals... Only Katie McMahon (131 from 2004-08) had more... Senior Shannon Geary scooped up 10 draw controls against the Bulldogs last weekend, bringing her career total to 142... She needs one to tie former teammate Mary Doyle (2013-16) for fourth in UC Davis history... This Sunday marks the Aggies' first appearance in an MPSF championship game... UC Davis previously reached the MPSF semis in 2010 (No. 5 seed, upset Oregon to advance), 2009 (No. 5 seed, upset Denver to advance) and 2005 (No. 4 seed, beat Oregon to advance)... The MPSF went from 10 teams in 2016 to three teams in 2018, thanks to the departure of Denver, the formation of the Pac-12 Conference for women's LAX, and Saint Mary's discontinuing its varsity program.

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. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, 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.

DON'T MISS OUT!: Season and single-game tickets for all UC Davis spring sports, plus renewals for Aggie football, are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.