DAVIS, Calif. -- Although local fans grabbed a sneak peek of the 2019 Aggies in the January 22 exhibition with Team England, the new UC Davis women's lacrosse season begins officially this weekend, with home games against UMass Lowell (Friday) and Michigan (Saturday). 

Who: UC Davis vs. UMass Lowell
When: Friday, February 8 • 3 p.m.
Where: Aggie Stadium (Davis, Calif.)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (http://statb.us/b/247501)
Live Video: Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/aggielax/)

Who: UC Davis vs. Michigan
When: Saturday, February 9 • 6 p.m.
Where: Aggie Stadium (Davis, Calif.)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (http://statb.us/b/247502)
Live Video: Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/aggielax/)

This begins the 23rd overall varsity season in program history, and the second under head coach Suzanne Isidor, who captured Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year honors in her first year at the Aggie helm. UC Davis went 8-6 a year ago, won both of its regular-season conference tilts, then battled San Diego State to an overtime loss in the MPSF tournament.

To Isidor, the scrimmage with England provided not only valuable experience against an international team, but also a live-game setting to transition the Aggies from preseason training mode to in-season game mode. "The most important part is that it served its purpose of getting the first-game jitters out of the way without being a real game. To play against high-pressure and figure out how to handle it was really good. We'll see a lot of pressure this weekend."

UC Davis opens with a UMass Lowell team that set 16 school records in 2018, including team goals, assists, draw controls and caused turnovers. Midfielder and River Hawks' points leader Kendyl Finelli returns for her senior year after setting a program benchmark of 41 assists. Saturday then welcomes Michigan program that ended its 2018 season with a 12-11 Big Ten Conference upset of No. 16 Penn State. The Wolverines return 11 of their 12 starters from that squad, including All-Big Ten midfielder Molly Garrett (50 draw controls) and leading scorer Adriana Pendino (33 goals).

"We have focused on some very specific things on both on attack and on defense," said Isidor. "Sometimes everything you've worked on can be forgotten in the intensity of a game. Our goals for this weekend is to stick to what we have been working on and put it into play. We've played really well and we have a lot of experience coming back on both sides of the ball. That experience will come in handy in two tough games, back-to-back."

Indeed, the Aggies graduated a substantial senior class last year, but returns five All-MPSF honorees: midfielder and 2018 conference Player of the Year Taylor Cuenin (team-leading 38 goals and 23 CTs), defender Natalie Garces (team-high 34 ground balls), goalkeeper Grace Richards (123 saves, .459 average), attacker Amanda Outcalt (30 goals) and attacker Sorana Larson (27 goals). Ten of the team's 12 starters return, including the entire defensive unit of Garces, Richards, Anna Belenis, Addie Dearden and Ally Deremer.

The attacking third and midfield returns starters Cuenin, Outcalt, Larson, senior Shannon Cross and junior Kate Graham, while Maddie Myers and Mar Alvear saw considerable playing time last year. Isidor also expects Rylie Siegfried to enjoy a breakout season, while freshmen Natalie Wilson and Julie Byrne should impact the middies crew in their rookie seasons.

Nevertheless, a new season always brings new questions, and Coach Isidor owns enough experience to know that these first games will offer an important inventory for the rest of the 2019 slate. As such, she is less concerned with scouting her guests and more interested in testing her Aggies. "It's the opening weekend for all three teams. We can find out all we want about each other, but this weekend is about what we can discover about ourselves. That's what matters."

All UC Davis games are played at Aggie Stadium. Admission is free. Live stats and live video are available at the links above.
 

QUICK STICKS:
HAPPY VALLEY REUNION: UMass Lowell may be a first-time opponent for UC Davis, while Michigan last faced the Aggies in the Big House back in 2014...  However, head coach Suzanne Isidor certainly will recognize one Aggie Stadium visitor this weekend: U-M head coach Hannah Nielsen began her coaching career as an assistant under Isidor at Penn State during the 2010 season... Nielsen, in turn, is already quite familiar with UC Davis, having served as an assistant at Colorado in 2014 and 2015.

PROMOTIONS: Saturday's contest is also Youth Day for UC Davis women's lacrosse, and the Davis Lacrosse Club's U10 and U14 girls' squads will be the guests of honor... Both teams play for 2018 Aggie alums: the Davis G14Bv for Kate Fellner, the G10 for Erica Ely... More details are available at https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/2019/2/2/2019-lacrosse-promotions.aspx.

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: Established 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.