DAVIS, Calif. — Freshman biological sciences major Max Glasser broke a 1-1 tie with his first career goal in the 70th minute, and junior global disease biology major Wallis Lapsley came up with a career-high eight saves — including a denial on a penalty kick in the 79th minute to preserve the one-goal lead — helping No. 17 UC Davis remain unbeaten with a, 3-1, victory over Santa Clara on Saturday evening at Aggie Soccer Field.

In only their second home match of the season, the Aggies moved to 5-0-2 overall on the year — and 9-0-3 in their last 12 contests dating back to 2017 — scoring three goals for the fourth time in their last five contests.

The five victories in its first seven matches are the most since the 2008 squad opened with a 6-1 record, while UC Davis won for the first time in the series with the Broncos since 1975, snapping a four-match (0-2-2) winless streak.

Santa Clara, playing in its fourth straight road contest, dropped its fifth consecutive decision in falling to 1-5 overall in the first meeting between the two programs since 2004.

The two teams scored four-and-a-half minutes apart in the first half as junior statistics major Dylan Wood got the Aggies on the board first with his first goal of the year. A long throw by freshman neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major Robert Mejia split two defenders as Wood ran onto the ball and flicked a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Dakota Havlick for the 1-0 lead.

Minutes later, Alex Achramowicz answered with his first of the year off an assist by Brandon Gillingham, who played the ball forward to his teammate down the right side before Achramowicz fired ball back across the goal to the left side netting to tie the match at 1-1.

The score remained tied until the break, and stayed that way until the middle of the second half when Glasser gave the Aggies the lead for good. The speedy freshman from Novato pounced on an Adam Mickelson shot that was saved by Havlick, but the rebound couldn't be corralled. Glasser then fired through traffic and found the back of the net on the left side to make it 2-1.

That's when Lapsley came up big in net with UC Davis whistled for a foul inside the right side of the box, as a defender took down a Bronco player, awarding Santa Clara a penalty kick. Javier Ruiz Duran, one of six players with goals this season, stepped to the spot and lined up a shot to the right side only to have Lapsley make a dive and kick away the attempt to preserve the one-goal lead.

Freshman managerial economics major Andy Velasquez then put the game just out of reach with his second goal of the season in the 87th minute as he took passes from freshman managerial economics major Connor Tipton and senior political science major Justin Wright, firing a shot to the left post that slipped through the keepers hands and into the side netting for the final advantage.

With their assists, Mickelson and Mejia tallied their team-best fourth assists of the year, ranking 1-2 on the team in points with 10 and six, respectively.

Santa Clara out-shot UC Davis, 17-16, thanks to a second-half flurry, but the Aggies put 10 of their 16 attempts on frame compared to just nine for the Broncos. Mejia led all UC Davis players with four shots, while 11 different Aggies had chances on the day.

A road-heavy start to the 2018 campaign continues in Orem, Utah, on Tuesday (Sept. 18) as the Aggies take on Utah Valley before opening a three-match home stand on Saturday (Sept. 22) against undefeated Saint Mary's (6-0 overall as of Saturday) at 1 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field.

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.