DAVIS, Calif. — Senior biological sciences major Ari Zamora came up big in the final 10 minutes of regulation on Thursday evening, scoring her first career goal off a pass from teammate Laura Nichol in the 83rd minute to help forge a 1-1 draw with visiting Weber State at Aggie Soccer Field.

UC Davis, which out-shot the visitors by a 24-10 count for the match, moved to 3-3-1 overall heading into Sunday's road contest at San Jose State. The 24 shots marked the Aggies' first 20-shot performance since posting 20 against Pacific on Sept. 16, 2016, and were the most since unleashing 25 attempts against the Tigers on Sept. 13, 2015.

"Today was both a great learning opportunity and an indicator of just how strong this team is becoming," Head Coach Twila Kaufman said. "It's a big deal to not drop a game like today when you outshoot a team like we did and one bounce doesn't go your way. Doing it with the limited number of subs we had available to us today was important for the team to show how much we're moving forward."

Fresh off its first win of the season in their last match, the Wildcats moved to 1-2-2 overall, helped immensely by a 13-save performance from goalkeeper Nikki Pittman — eight of those in the second half.

Zamora's strike answered a 75th minute goal by Weber State's Kinsley Napoli, who tapped home a pass from teammate Olivia Barton into a wide open net for the 1-0 lead.

That set the stage for the Danville, Calif., native, who got her head on the end of a pinpoint long ball from Nichol at the right post and snuck it through traffic to tie the match at one apiece with only 7:51 remaining.

All but three Aggies who appeared in Thursday's match finished with shots, led by three apiece from Nicole Carson, Mahlah Catline, Kristie Braken-Guelke, and Monet Kunz. Of UC Davis' 24 attempts, 15 were put on frame, but only one snuck past Pittman, who also got some help from teammate Madison Carter, who denied a scoring chance by Catline in the 81st minute by clearing a ball off the line at the left post.

"It's a great opportunity for us to learn how to become more sophisticated in the way that we attack and we're going to have to be a little more precise in the ways that we look to finish," Kaufman said. "The team knows that and they are up to the challenge."

The Aggies had a golden chance in the first overtime period when Crystal Crump and Aliyah Walker had back-to-back chances in a scrum inside in the six, but were denied twice by Pittman, while Monet Kunz had the only attempt in the second extra period that was easily stopped by the Weber State keeper.

Sophomore neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major Jessica Lima got the start in net for UC Davis, finishing with four saves on the day — just one shy of her career high.

"Jessica did an amazing job of filling in," Kaufman said. "She organized us really well and just showed a lot of maturity for her to come in after so many games have passed and do a really good job of making our backline comfortable."

Kick off at the Spartan Soccer Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday in San Jose, Calif.

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 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.