BERKELEY, Calif. — Senior
Sorana Larson continued her torrid start to the season with five more goals, while senior goalkeeper
Taylor Mathieson stymied the California offense to the tune of 14 saves on the night, helping lift UC Davis to a 14-8 victory over the Golden Bears on Friday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif.
The Aggies improved to 3-0 on the year, continuing their best start to a season since the 2014 squad opened that campaign with a 5-0 record. Friday's victory was the second straight in the series with the Golden Bears and the fifth in the last eight for UC Davis against their University of California system rival.
Larson, who entered the night as one of the nation's top goal scorers, increased her team-best total to 15 goals on 22 shots this season with the addition of her five scores on Friday, notching her third hat-trick of the season and the 17th of her career.
Her 92 career goals are just 12 shy of Megan O'Connor's total from 2004-07 for 10th on the school's all-time list. Meanwhile, her 114 total points are 38 shy of
Amanda Outcalt's total of 152 from 2017-20 for 10th on the school's career chart.
Seifert added her second hat trick of the year on five shot attempts, while senior
Maddie Myers and sophomore
Alex Agnew added two apiece.
Anna Hofgard and
Mia Lawrence capped the Aggies' scoring on the night.
Meanwhile, defensively, Mathieson was stellar between the pipes, finishing with a season-high 14 stops -- her sixth career double-digit save performance and the second-most in her career behind only the 19 stops at Georgetown on March 24, 2019.
UC Davis limited California to just 29 percent shooting on the night and forced the Golden Bears into 15 turnovers, three caused by
Ally Deremer and two more by Myers.
The home side scored three of the game's first four goals to jump out to an early lead before back-to-back scores by Myers and Larson knotted things back up at three apiece. A goal by Cal's Catherine Roxas briefly regained the lead for her team before the Aggies exploded to take the lead for good.
Agnew's first goal of the night sparked a 5-0 burst by UC Davis, which included scores by Seifert (twice), Myers, and Lawrence, for an 8-4 advantage. Maris Kuberra scored to stop the bleeding for California, but Larson finished the half with a pair of goals for a 10-5 lead at the break.
Larson's personal 4-0 run carried into the second half, opening the scoring with back-to-back scores two minutes apart just five minutes into the period, while Seifert and Agnew found the back of the net once again as UC Davis opened the second period with four straight scores.
California scored the final three goals of the game over the last six minutes, but would come no closer.
The Aggies close out their two-game Bay Area road trip on Sunday (Feb. 28) at 1 p.m., as they take on No. 22 Stanford.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
