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ORONO, Maine — Following a scoreless first half, a heads-up play when action resumed led to UC Davis' first goal of Sunday's America East Conference game at UMaine Field Hockey Complex when outstanding hustle from the Aggies created a turnover after the Black Bears opened the third quarter with a back pass towards their circle.
 
After stealing the ball, Madison Theodore found Shea Gavin far post, who immediately beat Maine goalkeeper Mia Borley with a redirected shot that gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
 
Gavin's goal, her team-high fifth of the season, followed a first half that saw end-to-end action throughout the opening quarter, and play taking place in front of  Maine's cage for a majority of the second since UC Davis earned four penalty corners, which led to three shots and a pair of attempts on goal, during that period.
 
Following their first goal, the Aggies continued to control a majority of the action until Maine scored the equalizer on a tip-in redirect, with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, on a play that began on a Black Bear penalty corner.
 
UC Davis goalkeeper Kalli Wagnon came up clutch throughout the game, but it was a kick save that took place in the opening minute of the fourth quarter that thwarted a potential Black Bear goal and preserved a tied score.
 
Wagnon's save became into a key moment of the game because UC Davis took a 2-1 lead midway through the quarter when Theodore's pass from inside the top of the circle found Emily Chen, who positioned herself a few yards away off the right-hand side of Maine's cage and scored the go-ahead goal to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
 
UC Davis held that advantage until Maine tied the score again, with 30 seconds left in regulation, to force sudden death.
 
Still tied at two through overtime, double OT ended with a flurry of shots from both teams throughout the final minutes in attempt to score the game-winner and prevent a shootout from deciding the game's ultimate result.
 
Following another clutch save from Wagnon, Gavin raced down the turf and saw her attempt redirected at the last moment, which led to a UC Davis corner and additional shots from Theodore and Milou Korthouwer shortly thereafter.
 
Eleven seconds later, Wagnon stopped the first of three straight shots from Maine — the final attempts from either team heading into the second shootout of the year for the Aggies.
 
Even though Korthouwer scored the first goal for UC Davis in the shootout, Maine converted on its first three attempts to escape with a 3-2 win.

"We've been through a lot this year, and I'm so proud of how we came together in our last game to compete and have fun. We showed up, worked for each other, and left it all out on the field. It was an awesome team performance," said Chen.

"It's still hard to believe I just played my last game. I was motivated to end on a strong note and enjoy being out on the field one last time, I'm so grateful to have played with this team for my senior season."
 
UC Davis ends the 2021 season with a 1-10 overall and 0-8 America East record, Maine will enter next week's league playoffs at 7-3 and 7-1.
 
Led by Jordan Engdahl and Theodore with five apiece, the Aggies recorded 21 shots throughout the game, including nine on goal. Nine of the game's 17 corners were earned by UC Davis and Wagnon recorded her third double-digit save total of the season by finishing with 11.
 

 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country. 
 
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.