DAVIS, Calif. — Senior political science major Justin Wright's first two goals of the season came at the right time for the No. 17 UC Davis men's soccer team, as his brace on Saturday afternoon — including the overtime "golden goal" game-winner — lifted the Aggies to a, 2-1, non-conference victory over Causeway rival Sacramento State in front of a boisterous 633 fans at Aggie Soccer Field.

UC Davis ends the non-conference portion of its season with a 7-1-2 overall record, winning for the fourth time in the last five meetings in the rivalry and winning for the first time in five overtime contests with the Hornets dating back to 1990.

Sacramento State, meanwhile, fell to 2-6-2 overall on the year, falling for the third straight time in the series.

"I thought we played really well," Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer. "We were down 1-0 and we came back, showed a lot of character and a lot of fight. I give credit to Sacramento State, they've got a great team that's much better than their record indicates."

Wright's two-goal performance was the first of his collegiate career — and the first by an Aggie player this season — as the Los Angeles native scored for the first time since finding the back of the net against CSUN in the semifinals of last year's Big West Conference tournament. Kyle Higgins was the last UC Davis player to score twice in a match, doing so against the Hornets last season on Oct. 29.

However, it was Sacramento State that put the Aggies in the early hole after both teams were evenly matched through a scoreless first half. The Hornets broke the scoreless deadlock in the 58th minute, turning a giveaway at midfield into the first goal of the match.

Oscar Govea touched a ball to a streaking Benji Kikanovic, who was making his run between two defenders down the middle of the field. Kikanovic knocked the ball down with his heel and took a touch to split his defenders at the top of the box, poking a right-footed shot past a sliding Wallis Lapsley in net to the right post for the 1-0 lead.

The goal was Kikanovic's fifth of the year and stood up until the 71st minute when Wright's first score of the year brought UC Davis level. The senior intercepted a pass at midfield and tried to feed a streaking teammate down the right side, but a Hornet defender got there first and deflected it right back to the feet of Wright.

Wright continued his run onto the ball, dribbled into the right side of the box and tucked a shot inside the left post to tie the match.

The senior's game-winner looked eerily similar with just over two minutes remaining in overtime but, this time, he got some help from teammate Dylan Wood. A long free kick near midfield on the left side snuck past a Sacramento State defender and onto the feet of Wright, who took a touch at the right side of the box and curled a shot around his defender and underneath Hornet keeper Nick Kubler that kissed off the left post and in for the victory.

"I've never scored two goals in a game so that feeling was special to me, being able to do it in front of the home crowd in such a big rivalry," Wright said. "I'm very proud of my teammates and grateful to be in that position to help lead the team to victory."

Wright finished with four of the team's 11 shot attempts on the day as senior history major Brian Quintero and freshman chemical engineering major Grant Fidler added two apiece. Lapsley finished with four saves on the day, including a post-to-post stop early in the second half, recovering to punch away a shot by Tone Andres at the left post after the Hornets' Dominic Scotti hit the post in the 53rd minute.

Lapsley, the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Week, then came up big two minutes into overtime, turning away Scotti once again.

"Wallis is an outstanding goalkeeper and I haven't seen a better keeper on a team we've played thus far," Shaffer said. "As a team, all you ask from a goalkeeper is to make one or two big saves a game to keep you in it and that's what Wallis did today for us."

Sacramento State finished with an 18-11 shot advantage, while UC Davis took seven of the 11 corners on the day. Both teams combined for 36 fouls and four cards.

The Aggies now turn their attention to the start of conference play next week, closing out a three-match home stand with their league opener against Cal Poly on Wednesday (Oct. 3) at 4 p.m., before hitting the road to take on CSUN on Saturday (Oct. 6) at 7 p.m.

DON'T MISS OUT!
The ninth-annual UC Davis Athletics Brewfest takes place as part of the October 13 Homecoming football game against Idaho State... Tickets for the Brewfest plus the Aggies-Bengals game are now on sale by clicking here... The Brewfest celebrates UC Davis as the No. 1 academic brewing program in North America... The ticket package includes unlimited tastings at the UC Davis Brewfest, a commemorative tasting mug, and a ticket to the game.

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.

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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.