DAVIS, Calif. — In a tale of two halves, the UC Davis men's soccer team rallied for three second half goals on Friday afternoon, erasing a two-goal first-half deficit and lifting the Aggies to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over visiting San Jose State at Aggie Soccer Field.

Although its shutout streak of 330 minutes came to an end, UC Davis remained unbeaten on the year, winning its home opener to improve to 2-0-1 overall — its first unbeaten start through the first three matches of a season since 2014 when the Aggies began that campaign 4-0-7 overall.

The Spartans, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead before hanging on for a 3-2 win against UC Davis in the Bay Area last year, fell to 0-2-1 on the season, scoring in the 13th and 30th minutes on goals by Willy Miranda and Jonathan Partida, respectively, for the early lead

"I told the team at halftime that there were no X's or O's that I could give them that would make a difference," Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer said. "Our effort needed to pick up and we needed to have a positive attitude to score three goals at home. I thought we played well in the first half, we just didn't score a goal."

The effort and attitude adjustment paid off as the San Jose State advantage didn't last long. Redshirt freshman Robert Mejia, who posted his first career three-point day, helped get the scoring avalanche started in the 50th minute, launching a long throw that found the head of senior Roy Boateng, who skied above his defender and headed home his first goal of the year to make it, 2-1.

Just five minutes later, Mejia was able to convert on a San Jose State miscue for his first career goal after the Spartans were unable to clear the ball out of their defensive third. A ball skipped right past a San Jose State defender to a waiting Mejia, who closed on the ball and launched a long shot from the wing to the left post to tie the match.

The score remained that way until the 76th minute when Mejia was able to draw a foul on the left side of the box, setting up a free kick from a sharp angle. Junior Adam Mickelson stepped to the ball and lofted a free kick to the back post where redshirt freshman Andy Velasquez was waiting to head home his first career goal — and game-winner — for the 3-2 lead.

"I thought our overall effort in the second half was outstanding," Shaffer said. "The leadership from Roy and (junior goalkeeper) Wallis (Lapsley) made a huge difference in the second half. They kept the team together and focused going forward and attacking.

"To be down, 2-0, wasn't a fair result of how we played in that first half. I just felt like our effort and attitude needed to be better. Post game, I told them that sometimes teams don't play well or don't have a good game or half and that one was ours, even though I thought we played really well. Unfortunately we just didn't score."

Both teams had chances in the final 10 minutes to build upon their totals — including a shot by the Spartans Miguel Castillo that grazed the top of the crossbar with 17 seconds remaining in regulation — but neither team was able to dent the back of the net.

Junior goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley made three of his four saves to earn the win, while San Jose State keeper Alex Clewis was busy, stopping seven of the 11 shots put on frame by the Aggies on the day, including getting some help from his defense, which cleared a ball off the line in the 28th minute. UC Davis outshot the Spartans, 18-13, for the match, including an 11-6 advantage in shots on goal.

After scoring just once in its trip to Nebraska last week, the UC Davis posted multiple goals for the first time in 2018 and finished with their most goals in a match since a 4-2 win over CSUN in the semifinals of last year's Big West Conference Tournament.

The Aggies take their show on the road to close out the weekend, heading south to take on future Big West rival CSU Bakersfield on Sunday (Sept. 2) at 7 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. 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.