­Follow UC Davis: Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Facebook
 
Game 9
 
UC Davis Aggies (4-3-1)
at
No. 6 Saint Mary's Gaels (7-0)

Thursday, Sept. 26 – 4 p.m.
Saint Mary's Stadium (5,500) – Moraga, Calif.
 
Tickets
Video
Live Stats
 
Game 10
 
UC Davis Aggies
at
Oregon State Beavers (5-3)

Sunday, Sept. 29 – 7 p.m.
Lorenz Field (1,500) – Corvallis, Ore.
 
Live Stats


DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis will face a pair of tough tests this week when its program-record eight-game road swing continues this week. Men's soccer will begin action at No. 6 Saint Mary's before heading to Corvallis this weekend to face Oregon State.
 
Once the Aggies return to Davis on Sunday, only one match will remain before the start of league play: a non-conference Causeway Classic tilt that will take place on Oct. 5.
 
SCOUTING NO. 6 SAINT MARY'S
UC Davis already defeated two teams that were listed in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings, and it will face its next challenge on Thursday when it heads to Moraga to face the sixth-ranked Gaels.
 
This matchup is the first of consecutive games against Big West competition for SMC since Sacramento State will visit Saint Mary's Stadium on Sun. The Gaels' 2019 season also opened against a Big West foe, a game they won against No. 25 UC Irvine, 2-0.
 
Last season's loss was the first for the Aggies since 2012; they compiled a 3-0-2 mark in the five games that took place in between, and have not suffered a loss in Moraga since Sept. 16, 2016. This means the Gaels will enter Thursday's contest with a home undefeated streak of 26 games.
 
With last week's win over Utah Valley, which secured the tournament title at the Peter Johann Memorial Classic (hosted by UNLV), the Gaels extended their unbeaten streak to 31 matches (27-0-4) — the ninth-longest all-time in NCAA Division I history.

 
Series Record: Saint Mary's leads 4-5-2
Last Saint Mary's Win: 9/22/18 — 1-0 at Aggie Soccer Field
Last UC Davis Win: 9/22/16 — 2-1 at Aggie Soccer Field
Series Streak: Saint Mary's +1
Last Five Results: L, T (2OT), W (OT), W, T (2OT)

SCOUTING OREGON STATE
Oregon State has enjoyed a luxury this season with seven of eight games taking place at Paul Lorenz Field. Of those games, five ended with a victory; games against Coastal Carolina and UC Santa Barbara were the exceptions.
 
Oregon State will host UC Davis in its final non-conference game, and will look to enter league play on a three-game win streak after defeating (RV) UCLA and San Diego State last week.
 
Even though the schools are separated by a 90-minute flight and a short drive, this is the second matchup between these teams in the last eight years. Following the Aggies' 1-0 double-OT home win in 2011, seven years (nearly to the day) passed before the Beavers and Aggies battled to a 1-1 draw. As was the case with last year's game, this season's matchup will take place in Corvallis.
 
UC Davis holds an edge in this series since it became a full-fledged member of the Big West Conference in 2007. In the four games since the Aggies' transition, they won two, dropped one and tied another.

Series Record: Series tied at 2-2-3
Last Oregon State Win: 9/17/10 — 3-2 at Oregon State
Last UC Davis Win: 9/9/11 – 1-0 (2OT) at Aggie Soccer Field
Series Streak: UC Davis +1
Last Five Results: T (2OT), W (2OT), L, W, L
 
TRUE STUDENT-ATHLETES
As ambassadors for the No. 5-ranked public school in the nation, UC Davis student-athletes take great pride in succeeding in the classroom, on the field and in the community. Majors for this year's roster include:
 
Biological Sciences: Max Glasser, Kaleb Schirmacher
Biomedical Engineering: Kristian Heptner
Chemical Engineering: Wumi Aladetimi, Grant Fidler
Civil Engineering: Jacob Rudolph
Design: Kameron Carey
Environmental Science & Management: Whalen Shinn
Global Disease Biology: Wallis Lapsley
Human Development: Sean Cooper
Managerial Economics: Jye Citizen, Marte Formico, Nabi Kibunguchy, Connor Tipton
Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior: Emmanuel Doherty, Jake Haupt
Political Science: Luke Hazel
Sociology: Adam Mickelson
Sociology – Organizational Studies: Luke Giusto
Statistics: Dylan Wood
Undeclared: Max Arfsten, Sean Bilter, Derrek Chan, Ryan Dieter, Turner Humphrey, Charles Janssen, Robert Mejia, Andy Velasquez, Tim Weidinger
 
QUICK KICKS

• No Big West active player has more career assists than senior forward Adam Mickelson and his 15
• Mickelson's 33 career points is the third-highest total among all BWC players
• Senior goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley leads all league netminders with 26 career wins and is No. 2 with 176 career saves
• Lapsley's 15 career shutouts is also the second-highest total among all active BWC goalkeepers
• Lapsley is No. 2, among all Big West goalkeepers this season, with his .824 save percentage and 28 saves
• He is also tied for first with three shutouts
• Adam Mickelson also holds another top-three ranking with his 24 shots, which ranks him No. 3 among all league players
• Men's soccer's current eight-game road trip is the longest in program history, and the most consecutive road games since the team played five in a row early in the 2016 season
• The previous record for the longest road swing was five games, which took place in 2016 and 2010
• UC Davis will play more road games on it current trip than Cal State Fullerton (6) and Cal Poly (7) on their respective schedules for the ENTIRE season
• CSUN, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara each have eight road games on its 2019 schedule
• By posting back-to-back shutouts against CSU Bakersfield and No. 25 Air Force, on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8 respectively, senior goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career, as announced on Sept. 9 by league officials
• In addition to receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the Aggies were one of five teams in the country that received votes in Top Drawer Soccer's national poll
• Thanks to victories collected against the Roadrunners and Falcons, UC Davis won this year's Copa de Causeway — a yearly tournament that features the Aggies, Sacramento State, and two visiting teams
• Earning all-tournament honors were four Aggies: senior goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley, senior midfielder Marte Formico, junior midfielder/defender Nabi Kibunguchy and sophomore defender Max Glasser
• Talk about making a memorable first impression: In his first home game an Aggie, redshirt freshman forward scored his first collegiate goal, a game-winner, against CSU Bakersfield
• No Big West team won more overall games throughout the last two seasons than UC Davis
• The Aggies advanced to the championship game of the Big West Tournament in each of the last two seasons
• Results earned during the opening week of the 2019 season, combined with the team's last five results of the '18 campaign, means that UC Davis will enter Friday's home opener on a seven-game unbeaten streak
• By opening the 2019 season with a 2-0 win at Wisconsin, the Aggies now sport a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Badgers
• As one of a handful of teams that received votes, Wisconsin opened the season among the teams featured in the United Soccer Coaches' inaugural national poll of the season
• The Aggies 2015 result against Wisconsin, which took place at Aggie Soccer Field, marked the team's last win versus a Power Five opponent
• UC Davis also opened 2018 with a win in its season opener (at Omaha) following by a scoreless tie two days later (at Creighton)
• In his 13th season as the Aggies' head coach, Dwayne Shaffer's tenure is the second-longest in the Big West, trailing only Terry Davila (CSUN) and Tim Vom Steeg — two coaches that spent the last 21 and 20 years at their respective schools

 
WHERE UC DAVIS RANKS
As of Sept. 22, the Aggies held the following top-50 NCAA rankings:

Save Percentage: 20th, .829
Shots Per Game: 48th, 13.88

Individuals
Total Saves: Wallis Lapsley - 31st, 28
 
UC DAVIS VS. THE BIG WEST
Entering this week's games, UC Davis holds the following league rankings:

Team
Shots: 2nd, 111
Points: 7th, 25
Goals: T-6th, 9
Goals Per Game: 7th, 1.12
Assists: 8th, 7
Assists Per Game: 8th, 0.88
Goals Allowed: 4th, 6
Goals Against Average: 3rd, 0.73
Saves: T-2nd, 29
Shutouts: T-1st, 3
Fouls: 7th, 85
Corners: 2nd, 45
Offsides: 1st, 24
 
Individuals
Shots: Adam Mickelson – 3rd, 24
Shots Per Game: Adam Mickelson — 5th, 3.00
Goals Against Average: Wallis Lapsley — 4th, 0.75
Save Percentage: Wallis Lapsley – 2nd, .824
Saves: Wallis Lapsley – 2nd, 28
Saves Per Game: Wallis Lapsley — 3rd, 3.50
Shutouts: Wallis Lapsley — T-1st, 3
Shutouts Per Game: Wallis Lapsley — T-3rd, 0.38

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS
This season, UC Davis holds the following records when broken down by the following categories:
 
4-3-1 overall

2-0 at home
2-3-1 on the road
0-0 in neutral site matches

2-1 against ranked opponents/opponents receiving votes
2-3-1 in shutouts

1-2 in games decided by one goal
4-0 in games decided by two goals
0-0 in games decided by three or more goals

0-0 in overtime
0-0-1 in double overtime

3-0 when UC Davis scores first
1-3 when opponents score first

2-0 leading at halftime
0-2 trailing at halftime
2-1-1 tied at halftime

3-3-1 when the Aggies outshoot opponents
0-0 when opponents outshoot the Aggies
1-0 equal number of shots

1-1-1 when the Aggies record more saves
2-2 when opponents record more saves
1-0 equal number of saves

2-1 when the Aggies take more corner kicks
2-1-1 when opponents take more corner kicks
0-1 equal number of corner kicks

3-1 when the Aggies commit more fouls
1-2-1 when opponents commit more fouls
0-0 equal number of fouls committed
 
AGS SEEK THIRD-STRAIGHT TRIP TO BIG WEST'S TOURNAMENT'S TITLE GAME
UC Davis soccer is one of the top teams in the Big West Conference, as evident by the amount of success the program enjoyed in recent seasons. Entering the 2019 season, no league team won more games throughout the last two seasons than the Aggies and their 22.
 
In each of the last two years, men's soccer advanced to the championship game of the conference's year-end tournament.
 
KIBUNGUCHY NAMED TO NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
UC Davis enjoyed a strong start to the season, and the play of its backline was a key reason why men's soccer defeated Wisconsin, a team that was listed in the inaugural national poll of the year, and Marquette, a tough Big East team.
 
Anchoring the team's defense throughout those challenging tests was junior midfielder/defender Nabi Kibunguchy, which is why College Soccer News selected the Elk Grove native to its National Team of the Week on Sept. 2
 
Kibunguchy also posted a game-high four shots against the Golden Eagles, and generated the Aggies' most dangerous scoring opportunities that afternoon.

KIBUNGUCHY EARNS PRESEASON ACCOLADES ONCE AGAIN
Junior midfielder Nabi Kibunguchy earned preseason honored for the second year in a row when Big West head coaches selected the Elk Grove, Calif. native to the All-Big West Conference Preseason Team.
 
Kibunguchy was one of 11 players to earn this accolade.
 
The Aug. 22 announcement was the latest honor for Kibunguchy, who was named one of the top 100 upperclassmen by Top Drawer Soccer earlier this year.
 
SIX WILL ENTER, ONLY ONE WILL BECOME CHAMPION
The 2019 Big West Men's Soccer Tournament will take place from Nov. 6-16, with six teams battling for the league's postseason championship and automatic berth at the NCAA Tournament.
 
The top two seeds, based on the regular season standings, will earn a bye, with the remaining four teams squaring off in the opening round. The higher seeds for each matchup will host respective games.
 
First Round action is set for November 6; semifinal matchups will face one another on November 9. Semifinal winners will advance to the championship game, which is scheduled for November 16.
 


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.
 
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.