STANFORD, Calif. — Noelle Wijnbelt made hat tricks in both games in a split-result day at the Avery Aquatics Center, nearly spearheading an Aggie comeback against No. 8t Pacific, and a win over No. 19 Indiana. In the final day of the Stanford Invitational, the No. 13 Aggies lost to No. 8t Pacific 8-10, but came back to beat No. 19 Indiana 13-10.

In the first game of the day against the Tigers, the Aggies had a slow start in what turned out to be a two-possession loss. In the first quarter, UC Davis took six shots, but could not convert any on the scoreboard, resulting in a 5-0 deficit. Pacific continued to press throughout the second quarter, and would've shut out UC Davis at the half if it weren't for Wijnbelt's lone goal on a five meter penalty shot.

The Aggies did not give up, however, and continued to take advantage of penalties to chip away at the Tigers, going three-for-three at the five meter line. Devin Holcomb found the cage for the first regular goal of the game, and kicked off a comeback effort that would span the entire second half.

Audrey Taylor scored just her second official goal of the season to put UC Davis within reach at 5-9 to start off the fourth period, and added to Wijnbelt's three, Robinson's two, and one each from Emily Byrne and Holcomb.

Freshman goal keeper Sophia Noble took over for Caitlin Golding at the half, and recorded a career-high nine saves to keep Pacific at just two goals in the third period and a shutout in the fourth. 

Ultimately, time was not on the Aggies' side, as Pacific would run the clock in its remaining possessions to close the game 10-8 in favor of the Tigers. 

Although against Indiana, the clock couldn't seem to move fast enough. The Aggies jumped out to a quick lead, closing the first quarter 2-0, but the Hoosiers had a solid second quarter, stringing together six goals to even the score at 6-6 at the half. Indiana would also tie the scoring in the fourth quarter, but a 4-1 third quarter proved to be the deciding factor for the Aggies.

Wijnbelt recorded her seventh game this season with two or more goals, and her fourth game with a hat trick. Kathleen Schafle also found the cage four times against the Hoosiers tying her career high for single-game scoring for the second time. Annie Kutt found her range again, scoring twice in the second half from beyond the five meter line to help put the Aggies ahead. Byrne and Marcela Portales each scored twice, and Taylor found the cage for the second time in the day.

The Aggies showed incredible mental prowess throughout the Stanford Invite, coming back from multiple deficits during the weekend's games. 

"It's a challenging weekend to play three top-20 teams, and the National Team from China, and we did it all in about 36 hours," said head coach Jamey Wright.

"We played four very competitive, physical games. I was really impressed with two things from the team: first, our fitness level. There's no way you can come back against Michigan — a team that swims as well as they do — without being super fit. I was also happy with our mental toughness, because again, you're down and come back twice against Michigan, and the same thing against Pacific, coming back from 1-8. That part was good, but we have a lot of things to work on, obviously. In that game against Indiana, I wish we played a little cleaner at the end and there were a ton of technical things we did wrong here and there, giving up goals. All in all, it was a collective good weekend, good learning experience and that's what we're trying to do at this point in the season."

The Aggies will stay on the road for another impressive tournament weekend, where the team travels south to UC San Diego's tournament, the Triton Invite. They will compete in four tough games, and the schedule can be found here. 
 

GOALS: UC DAVIS: Noelle Wijnbelt 3, Chloe Robinson 2, Devin Holcomb 1, Emily Byrne 1, Audrey Taylor 1. PACIFIC:  Viktoria Tamas 4, Mariana Duarte 2, Viktoria Szmodics 1, Savannah Fitzgerald 1, Briana Utas 1.
GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Sophia Noble 9. PACIFIC: Clara Vulpisi 8.

GOALS: UC DAVIS: Kathleen Schafle 4, Annie Kutt 2, Emily Byrne 2, Marcela Portales 2, Noelle Wijnbelt 2, Audrey Taylor 1. INDIANA:Tina Doherty 4, Lauren Entire 3, Izzy Mandema 1, Hannah Falls-Hand 1, Gillian Gatecliff 1. 
GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Caitlin Golding 6, Sophia Noble 5. INDIANA: Sarah Green 4.

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, 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
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, 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.