THIS WEEK…
Cal Baptist (2-0) at UC Davis (0-2)
Friday, Aug. 24, 2018 | 4:00 p.m. PT | Aggie Soccer Field | Davis, Calif.
RADIO: None
TV: None
FOLLOW: Live Stats |
Tickets
UC Davis (0-2) at Sacramento State (0-2)
Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018 | 1:00 p.m. PT | Hornet Field | Sacramento, Calif.
RADIO: None
TV: None
FOLLOW: Watch Live |
Live Stats
OPENING WHISTLE: The UC Davis women's soccer team stays local in its search for its first victory of the season, closing out a stretch of three straight matches at home before venturing east for the first Causeway Cup contest of the year. The Aggies open the weekend against Division I newcomer Cal Baptist on Friday (Aug. 24) at 4 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field, before heading 20 miles east to take on Sacramento State on Sunday (Aug. 26) at 1 p.m.
"BIKE IN" SERIES CONTINUES FRIDAY: As a way to celebrate the Davis "bike culture" and encourage children and adults to participate in healthy activities together, the UC Davis women's soccer program has introduced a series of "Bike In" matches for the 2018 season, offering discounted tickets to those who ride their bikes to select contests. Continuing with Friday's match against Cal Baptist, adults can attend those matches for only $5, with a child's ticket costing only $4. Other "Bike In" events include Aug. 31 against New Mexico, Sept. 6 against Weber State, and Oct. 14 against UC Irvine.
IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, Cal Baptist, nor Sacramento State, are ranked nationally entering this weekend's matches.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis women's soccer by "liking" them on Facebook (/UCDavisWomensSoccer) and following them on both Twitter (@UCDavisWSOC) and Instagram (@UCDavisWSOC). You can also follow Head Coach
Twila Kaufman on Twitter (@twilakaufman) and Instagram (@TwilaKaufman).
ABOUT THE LANCERS: Cal Baptist is in its second season of transition to the Division I level and has opened its inaugural Division I schedule with a pair of 1-0 shutouts over Loyola and Antelope Valley… A member of the Western Athletic Conference, the Lancers feature 17 new faces on their 32-woman roster — including a trio of players who have experience in a Division I program… All-West Region honoree Desarae Felix leads the returning group offensively after finishing with a team-high seven goals — and has scored once already this year — while Jordan Dow added six more scores a year ago… Cal Baptist graduated record-setting goalkeeper Sara Escobedo last year, and features five new faces between the pipes… Carissa Christensen, a transfer from Texas Tech, and Romy Salvador, a transfer from Northwestern Ohio, have each started a match this season, with Christensen making four saves in the win over Loyola and Salvador not facing a shot in the win over Antelope Valley.
SERIES NOTES: Friday marks the first-ever meeting between UC Davis and Cal Baptist in women's soccer.
ABOUT THE HORNETS: Sacramento State enters the weekend with an 0-2 record after falling by identical 2-1 scores in tournament play against UC Santa Barbara and host UNLV in Las Vegas last week… The Hornets will travel to Fresno State on Friday before hosting UC Davis… Sacramento State return six starters (and only seven upperclassmen) off of last season's squad that finished 8-8-4 overall and 3-3-4 in the Big Sky Conference… The Hornets were picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky according to a vote of the league's coaches… Sophomore defender Christina Lazar and sophomore midfielder Skylar Littlefield have each scored goals for Sacramento State, with the latter posting a team-high five shots on the year… Junior Kaylyn Evans and freshman Ailey Collins have each started a match in net, with the latter finishing with nine saves against the Rebels.
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with Causeway rival Sacramento State, 11-5-3, but the Hornets snapped the Aggies' 10-match unbeaten streak in the series with a 1-0 victory at Aggie Soccer Field… UC Davis had been 7-0-3 against Sacramento State during its run (including four double-overtime contests), with the Hornets not having won a head-to-head contest since 2006… The Aggies are 6-3-2 against Sacramento State on the Hornets' home field, including a five-match unbeaten run (3-0-2) dating back to 2008… UC Davis and Sacramento State battled to a scoreless draw in the last meeting at Hornet Field in 2016.
ABOUT THE AGS: UC Davis returns 17 letter winners and nine starters off of last season's squad that finished 4-12-2 overall, but finished 3-3-2 in the rugged Big West Conference to finish just out of a spot in the league tournament… Sophomore forward
Mahlah Catline (undeclared) leads the returners on offense after scoring a team-high four goals in her Division I debut… Junior communication major
Mckenna Moriarty (two goals) and junior managerial economics major
Olivia Jones (one goal) also scored last season… Now in her fourth year as a starter in net, senior goalkeeper
Alexis Smith (materials science and engineering) returns after earning All-Big West second team honors as a junior, ending the year with a 1.20 goals against average, 84 saves, and three shutouts.
UC DAVIS EARNS HIGHEST PRESEASON PICK: The Aggies were picked to finish fifth in the Big West Conference — including receiving one first-place vote — according to a vote of the league's head coaches released prior to the start of the 2018 campaign. It is the highest preseason prediction in the program's Division I history as UC Davis had never been picked to finish higher than seventh prior to this year. The Aggies finished with 42 points overall along with their one first-place vote to place just behind CSUN, which was fourth with 48 points. Defending regular season champion UC Irvine, which received three first-place votes, was picked to repeat with 70 points overall, shading second-place Long Beach State (two first-place votes, 68 points) and defending tournament champion Cal State Fullerton (three first-place votes, 65 points).
SMITH EARNS PRESEASON HONORS: Senior materials science and engineering major
Alexis Smith was one of 11 players named to the Big West preseason all-conference team — only the third Aggie to earn the honor along with Mary Beth Mazurek (2012) and Ashley Edwards (2013). A stalwart in net for UC Davis during her previous three seasons, Smith is a three-time All-Big West honoree who begins her final season in an Aggie uniform as the program's career record holder in shutouts (19), while standing tied for fourth in career saves (205) alongside Kelly Parker, and third in minutes played (5,087).
AGGIE TWITTER NOTES
• Sophomore human development major
Alicia Sloss came up with the Aggies' first goal of the 2018 campaign last weekend against Nevada — her second career goal and her first in almost two years after scoring against Cal State Fullerton as a true freshman in 2016
• Sloss' goal was the first by an Aggie player since
Mahlah Catline's game-tying goal against the Titans on Oct. 5 of last season, snapping a string of 523 scoreless minutes
• The 15 corner kicks against the Wolf Pack are a program single-match Division I record, breaking the previous mark of 12 against Pacific on Sept. 16, 2016
• Three Aggie newcomers made their official UC Davis debuts during the season's opening weekend: sophomore transfer
Bryanna Duckett, freshman defender
Margot Ridgeway, and freshman defender
Aris Beltran
• Ridgeway, along with teammates
Ari Zamora,
Emma Hasco, and goalkeeper
Alexis Smith, are the only four players to compete in all 180 minutes thus far this season
• Sunday's match in Sacramento marks the first head-to-head match up in this year's Causeway Cup series with the Hornets — the 15th anniversary of the competition established in 2004-05. UC Davis has won the last six Causeway Cups and 10 of the 14 head-to-head competitions overall.
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.
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.
