DAVIS, Calif. — Coming off its first loss of the season following a 3-0 start, the UC Davis women's lacrosse team looks to get back on track this weekend in Southern California, taking on current Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival San Diego State and former conference foe USC in a pair of road matches. The Aggies and Aztecs meet in a non-conference affair on Friday (March 5) at 1 p.m., before meeting up with the Women of Troy on Sunday (March 7) at 3 p.m.
NEXT UP…
WHAT: UC Davis (3-1) at San Diego State (2-2)
WHEN: Friday, March 5, 2021
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: San Diego, Calif.
STADIUM: Aztec Lacrosse Field
STREAMING VIDEO: GoAztecs.com
LIVE STATS: GoAztecs.com
WHAT: UC Davis (3-1) at No. 18 USC (1-2)
WHEN: Sunday, March 7, 2021
TIME: 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Los Angeles, Calif.
STADIUM: McAlister Field
STREAMING VIDEO: Pac-12 Network Live Stream
LIVE STATS: USCTrojans.com
IN THE RANKINGS…
UC Davis and San Diego State are unranked… USC enters the week ranked No. 18 in the most recent IWLCA poll; the 61st consecutive week that the Women of Troy have been ranked in that poll.
ABOUT THE AZTECS…
San Diego State enters the week with a 2-2 overall record, alternating wins and losses to start the season… The Aztecs have opened the year against four Pacific-12 Conference opponents, posting wins over Oregon (11-9) and California (12-11), while falling to then-No. 13 USC (20-6) and Arizona State (23-10)… Senior attack Lexi Tan leads SDSU in scoring with eight goals and is one of three Aztecs with eight points on the year… Sophomore attach Camdyn O'Donnell sports a team-high five assists to go with a pair of goals… Fifth-year goalkeeper Katy Sharretts has started all four matches in net, playing all but 14 minutes total, posting a 15.67 goals against average and 45 saves to go with a .433 save percentage.
ABOUT THE WOMEN OF TROY…
Defending Pac-12 champion USC opens the week with a 1-2 overall record after opening the year with a win over San Diego State and dropping a pair of matches at Stony Brook and Boston College during an East Coast trip last week… Sunday will be the home opener for the Women of Troy, posting a 47-11 all-time record at McAlister Field and winning their last seven at home… Senior attack Sophia Donovan leads the Women of Troy with six goals, three assists, and nine points overall, on 11 shots thus far this year… Sophomore attack Ella Heaney has also scored six times on 10 shots this season… Senior goalkeeper Riley Hertford has played every minute in net this season, posting an 11.67 goals against average and 26 saves to go along with a .426 save percentage.
SERIES NOTES…
San Diego State: The series between the Aggies and Aztecs is knotted at 5-5, with the two programs alternating wins over the last two seasons… San Diego State won the last meeting between the two, a 15-7 decision on April 28, 2019, in the championship match of the MPSF Tournament… UC Davis is 3-2 on the road against the Aztecs, with the last meeting in San Diego ending in favor of SDSU in overtime by an 11-10 score… USC: The Women of Troy are a perfect 5-0 against UC Davis in the history of the series dating back to 2013 when both were a member of the MPSF until 2017… This will be the first meeting between the two programs since an 18-9 USC victory in Davis back on April 23, 2017… The Women of Troy have won all three meetings in Los Angeles, the last coming in a 14-4 decision on April 24, 2016.
AGGIE STORYLINES…
• UC Davis ranks among the top 20 in the nation in eight categories: assists per game (20th, 6.25), clear percentage (16th, .905), free position percentage (11th, .593), points per game (15th, 22.00), save percentage (18th, .505), scoring offense (15th, 15.75), shot percentage (13th, .496), and shots on goal per game (16th, 24.00)
• Senior goalkeeper
Taylor Mathieson was named the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career following her performances at California and then-No. 22 Stanford last week.
• The cognitive science major combined for 24 saves and a .500 save percentage against the Golden Bears and the Cardinal.
• Mathieson's 14 saves against Cal were a season high and the most since she stopped a career-high 19 shots at Georgetown in 2019.
• She also gathered eight ground balls at Stanford — the sixth-most in MPSF single-game history and the most since USC's Gussie Johns finished with nine on April 30, 2017.
• Mathieson ranks No. 12 in the NCAA in ground balls per game, No. 39 in goals against average, No. 21 in save percentage, No. 27 in saves per game, and No. 12 in saves.
• A nominee for MPSF Offensive Player of the Week, junior
Kendall Seifert netted a career-high four-goal game against the nationally ranked Cardinal — her third hat trick of the season.
• Seifert's 11 goals this season (No. 21 in the NCAA) are four more than in her previous two seasons combined.
• Senior
Sorana Larson continued her tear, adding her fourth hat trick in as many matches this year against Stanford following a five-goal outburst against the Golden Bears, bringing her total to a season-high 18 goals.
• Larson enters the week ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in goals scored and No. 4 in points (22), while ranking among the top 20 in five other categories.
• The 18 goals through four matches are five more than Larson had through six matches last season before the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended the year.
• Larson's single-season career high is 30 goals scored in 2019.
• Larson's 95 career goals are just nine shy of Megan O'Connor's total from 2004-07 for 10th on the school's all-time list, while her 117 points are 35 shy of
Amanda Outcalt's total of 152 from 2017-20 for 10th all time.
• Larson's nine shot attempts at both California and Stanford are the most since teammate
Maddie Myers finished with 12 against the Golden Bears on Feb. 14 of last season.
• Although the unbeaten run came to an end, UC Davis' 3-0 start following its victory over California marked its best since opening the 2014 campaign at 5-0.
• The seven-goal deficit was the smallest margin of defeat to the Cardinal since a 13-6 decision against Stanford back in 2016
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.
