Iowa City, Iowa - Sophomore Izzy Porco provided the Aggies with a jolt of energy with her fourth quarter goal against Iowa on Sunday morning but it wasn't enough to get past the No. 7 Hawkeyes as the Aggies fell 3-1. 

"Throughout the past month we have battled some very skilled and tactically strong teams," Head Coach Britt Broady said. "I am proud to say no team has out-worked us and no team has played with more heart.  I couldn't be more proud of our ability to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the country."

Playing on the second half of a back-to-back, the Aggies withstood charges early and often from Iowa as senior goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow was called upon for saves on back-to-back penalty corners not five minutes into the first period. 

Those saves by Bigelow, who ended with 11 for her second double-digit save performance this season, gave UC Davis momentum heading the other way but it proved to be an uphill battle wresting ball control from an Iowa team that had the benefit of a day of rest between games. 

The Hawkeyes (9-2) took an early lead on a breakaway at the 10:16 mark of the first period but the Aggies displayed noticeably more one-on-one pressure in the second period to allow nearly half as many shots in the second than the first and head to the half down just 1-0. 

Iowa struck twice in the third in the sixth and 14th minutes to pull ahead 3-0 but it was Porco's goal that provided the Aggies with life in the fourth. 

With UC Davis' first penalty corner of the game, Porco took a deflection from Tatiana Arias and pointed it into the corner of the goal for her first of the season. That led to more possession time for the Aggies in the fourth quarter but UC Davis weren't able to add on further. 

While the Aggies' defense has been an undeniable bright spot this season, Head Coach Britt Broady would like to see the offense take a bit of the pressure off Bigelow and the defense as conference play approaches. 

"With only one shot on goal, we force our defense to play perfectly," Broady explained. "Iowa is a very high scoring team with a skilled midfield and scrappy forwards. Holding Iowa to three very legitimate goals is the result of great tackling and exceptional goalkeeping." 

"I am confident that our attack can catch on fire at any moment and that makes us dangerous. We had the ball in our attacking end a lot during the fourth quarter and really put them under the pump at different points," Broady added. "Going forward, we will continue to work on our counterattack and start to earn more positives from our press."

Iowa marked the fourth ranked opponent UC Davis have faced this season and the first time a ranked opponent has scored more than one goal in regulation against the Aggies. 

At 5-5, UC Davis will head home for one last non-conference game before America East play begins. The Aggies host Central Michigan on Tuesday at Aggie Field Hockey Facility at 10 a.m. and will face their first conference opponent in Cal on Oct. 18. 

ABOUT UC DAVIS
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