BERKELEY, Calif. — With two games that were won or lost by a single goal, the Aggies split day two at the Cal Cup in Berkeley, falling 13-14 to No. 13 Fresno State, and defeating a tough No. 18 San Jose State team 8-7.
Fresno State struck first, recording the first goal of the game on a five-meter penalty at 4:47 in the first period, and followed it with a powerplay goal two minutes later. The Aggies responded with a pair of goals from Emily Byrne to tie the game at two-apiece, before Isabella Sonkoly netted a goal to close the first quarter 2-3, Fresno State.
The Aggies and the Bulldogs traded goals in pairs, with Fresno State racing to a 5-2 lead halfway through the second, when Byrne completed her hat trick at 4:30 in the quarter. Chloe Robinson followed up with a goal of her own to bring the Aggies within one, only to be answered by the Bulldogs.
Facing a 4-7 deficit, Noelle Wijnbelt put in back-to-back goals en route to a single-game career high of six goals. Wijnbelt notched her first goal with 11 seconds left in the half, and closed the scoring gap with another goal to start the third period.
Julia Hartmann notched her first goal of the day to kickoff a Wijnbelt scoring streak, as Wijnbelt went on to score the next two in the third period to give the Aggies their first lead of the game at 9-8 with 2:11 remaining in the third.
UC Davis traded leads with the Bulldogs, with Wijnbelt picking up another two goals, and Byrne making her fourth of the game. The game was tied at 12-12 with just 3:51 remaining in regulation, when Abbey Pfefferlen found the cage to give the Aggies a 13-12 lead. Unfortunately, Fresno State's Yesenia Preciado scored twice to end the game 14-13 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Aggies finished the day with a narrow win over San Jose State, trading goals to come out of a slight deficit with the lead, and never looked back.
Wijnbelt scored her seventh and last goal of the day to open the game for UC Davis, just for the Spartans to respond with two of their own. Robinson led all Aggie scorers, recording three total goals in the first half, supplemented by Hartmann and Audrey Taylor for UC Davis' 6-3 lead into the half.
San Jose State came out firing in the second half, but were unable to overcome the Aggie lead. Taylor scored her second goal of the game, with Emily Aikema notching her only goal on the day to seal the win for the Aggies.
No. 12 UC Davis will return to action next weekend, Feb. 1-2, at the Stanford Invite, hosted by defending national champion Stanford.
| No. 12 UC Davis |
2 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
15 |
| No. 12 Fresno State |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
14 |
GOALS: UC DAVIS: Noelle Wijnbelt 6, Emily Byrne 4, Chloe Robinson 1, Abbey Pfefferlen 1, Julia Hartmann 1. FRESNO STATE: Yesenia Preciado 3, Callie Woodruff 2, D. Guevremont 2, Cynthia Rosa 2, Emily Diacono 2, Isabella Sonkoly 1, Sienna Jagielski 1, Claire Schade 1.
GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Sophia Noble 8. FRESNO STATE: Madelynn Garcia 9.
| No. 12 UC Davis |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
| No. 18 San Jose State |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
GOALS: UC DAVIS: Chloe Robinson 3, Audrey Taylor 2, Noelle Wijnbelt 1, Julia Hartmann 1, Emily Aikema 1. SAN JOSE STATE: Jacqui Maisey 2, Olga Descalzi Portell 2, Isabella Schmidt 1, Lili Irvari 1, Matilda Moore 1.
GOALIE SAVES: UC DAVIS: Caitlin Golding. SAN JOSE STATE: Hannah Henry 5.
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.
