BERKELEY, Calif. — Allyson Clague and Noelle Wijnbelt led the scoring charge for No. 12 UC Davis women's water polo against No. 2 Stanford, and No. 6 Cal, respectively. The Aggies dropped both games on day one of the Cal Cup, but are slated for two more as part of Sunday's action in Berkeley.

In the tournament's opener against the defending national champion, UC Davis put up the most goals against the Cardinal since the Aggies' records started in 1997, falling 19-9 at the Legends Aquatics Center. The previous best result against Stanford had been eight goals (1998, 2008, 2019). 

Clague recorded her first goals of the season in style, notching a hat trick against the Cardinal, bolstered with two goals from Chloe Robinson, and one each from Wijnbelt, Emily Byrne, Emily Aikema, and redshirt freshman Morgan Polterock — her first as an Aggie.

The Aggies finished the first quarter within two of Stanford, before being outscored in the next two periods 13-3. Despite the deficit, UC Davis won the fourth period 4-2 largely in thanks to Clague's conversions on two five-meter penalty shots.

Although the Aggies fell 8-12 in the day's second game against host No. 6 Cal, UC Davis kept fans on their toes at Spieker Aquatics Center with a 3-1 Aggie lead after three goals scored on three shots from Wijnbelt, including a five-meter penalty. Abbey Pfefferlen tacked on her first goal of the year to extend UC Davis' lead to 4-2, with the Bears scoring to end the first period with UC Davis just ahead 4-3.

Cal's Claire Sonne led the team with three goals on the day, with one at 6:50 in the second to tie the game at four goals apiece. The entire quarter was a back-and-forth between the Aggies and the Bears, featuring a goal from Byrne to take a 5-4 lead, just to be answered in the final minute of the half from Sonne to remain a tied game into halftime. 

Cal would then go on to hold UC Davis scoreless in the third to take their first and final lead of the game with five unanswered goals, before Wijnbelt notched her fourth goal to end an 11-minute scoring drought. 

In total, Wijnbelt led day one with five goals, followed by Robinson with four, and Clague with the hat trick. Byrne finished with a goal in each game, and a total of seven drawn exclusions between the two to bring her season total to a team-high 11.

No. 12 UC Davis continues at the Cal Cup on Sunday, Jan. 26, with games against No. 13 Fresno State at 9:45 AM (live stats), and No. 18 San Jose State at 2:15 PM (live stats). Both games will be held at the Spieker Aquatics Center.
 

GOALS: UC DAVIS: Allyson Clague 3, Chloe Robinson 2, Noelle Wijnbelt 1, Emily Byrne 1, Morgan Polterock 1, Emily Aikema 1. STANFORD: Sarah Klass 5, H. Constandse 5, Katie Lyons 3, Lauren Indart 2, Madison Stamen 1, Chloe Harbilas 1, Lauren Bywater 1, Floranne Carroll 1.

GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Sophia Noble 2, Cleopatra Constantin 2. STANFORD: E. Eichelberger 6, Emily Blackwell 0.
 

GOALS: UC DAVIS: Noelle Wijnbelt 4, Chloe Robinson 2, Emily Byrne 1, Abbey Pfefferlen 1. CAL: Claire Sonne 3, Brigit Mulder 2, Kristina Garcia 2, Cecily Turner 2, Carson Broad 1, Ruby Swadling 1, Hannah DeRose 1. 

GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Sophia Noble 7. CAL: Cassidy Ball 9.

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.

MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 athletics programs.
Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year.
All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs.
To learn more about projects the Marya Welch Initiative is currently funding, like the Marya Welch Initiative on Facebook. Join this groundbreaking program by clicking here, contacting Assistant AD for Leadership Giving and Alumni Engagement Liz Martin at (530) 752-7326 or emartin@ucdavis.edu.

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.