MORAGA, Calif. — Jordyn Cunningham and Anyssa Dominguez each scored goals in the first eight minutes on Saturday afternoon and the Saint Mary's defense made them stand, lifting the Gaels to a 2-0 victory over visiting UC Davis in Moraga, Calif.

After a week off, the Aggies fell to 3-5-2 overall and are winless in their last five matches overall. Saint Mary's improved to 5-4-1 overall with the win, out-shooting UC Davis, 17-6, on the day and holding the Aggies to just four shots on frame.

"This is a good learning opportunity for our team to start every game at our strongest," Head Coach Twila Kaufman said. "Sometimes, games go like this and, if and when they do, we have to risk more to outscore opponents. Unfortunately, we ran out of time."

Senior materials science and engineering major Alexis Smith tied a season high with seven saves and moved just four back of Taylor Jern (2011-14) for second on the all-time list in the process. Sophomore neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major Aliyah Walker led the Aggies with three shots — putting two on frame.

Cunningham's game-winner came just 4:20 into the contest as she ran down a through ball and fired to the right post for the 1-0 lead. Just three-and-a-half minutes later, Dominguez took a pass from teammate Hailey Prentice and curled a shot to the left corner to make it 2-0.

Just before the end of the first half, it looks as if the Aggies had halved the Saint Mary's lead as senior biological sciences major Kristie Braken-Guelke sent a free kick from 40 yards over the head of the Gaels' goalkeeper and into the back of the net, but the score was waved off following a UC Davis foul in the box.

Attempts by Walker in the 76th minute and junior biomedical engineering major Hailey Rittershofer in the 79th minute forces goalkeeper Sarah Swatsky into saves as the Aggies pressed for goals, but they were unable to dent the back of the net.

"Hats off to Saint Mary's, which scored two great goals against us, very hard and well-placed shots while under pressure," Kaufman said. "We are looking forward to regrouping together and using it as fuel for the start of conference play."

UC Davis continues its four-match road swing with a trip down the coast, taking on UC Santa Barbara on Friday (Sept. 28) at 7 p.m., before tackling Cal Poly on Sunday (Sept. 30) at noon.

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.