FRESNO, Calif. — Senior
Sorana Larson tied the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and school single-game record with nine goals on the day, while UC Davis set a conference and school record with 27 goals scored on the afternoon, wrapping up the regular season with a 27-14 road triumph over Fresno State on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies, who improved to 11-4 overall on the season and 2-0 in league play, head into next week's MPSF Tournament as the top seed and will play in the MPSF championship match for the third consecutive year. The 11 victories are the most since the 2010 squad finished 11-6 overall.
Led by four goals from Sydney Skalstad, the Bulldogs fell to 1-11 overall and 0-2 in MPSF action.
Larson's career day had a dramatic affect on the UC Davis record books as her nine goals tied Katie McMahon's MPSF and school record set against Colorado College in 2004 and matched by McMahon against Bucknell in 2006. With an added assist, Larson's 10 points are now tied for third in a single match, last accomplished by Elizabeth Datino against Central Connecticut in 2012.
Entering the day with 51 goals, Larson's scoring output moved her into fourth on the school's single-season goals list with 60, becoming only the second Aggie to record 60 goals in a season along with McMahon, who put up a record 69 in 2005, 66 in 2004, and 61 more in 2008. Meanwhile, Larson now ranks sixth on the career goals list with 137, standing just six shy of Gina Hoffmire, who scored 143 from 2008-11, for fifth.
Larson's 10 points on the day also moved her into the single-season top 10 with 75, jumping her past four Aggie greats and into sixth on that list, trailing McMahon's 77 points in 2006 for fifth. With 170 career points, she now ranks eighth on the school all-time list, trailing
Taylor Cuenin (2016-19) and Hoffmire by one for sixth.
As a team, the 27 goals scored by UC Davis surpassed the previous MPSF mark of 26 set by Denver against Colorado College in 2006, and broke the school record set against Colorado College in 2004 and later tied against both Long Island and Saint Mary's in 2012. The 41 combined goals were also the most in school history, breaking the mark of 40 set in the 24-16 win over Colorado College in that 2004 meeting, the 54 shots broke the mark of 52 set against Regis in 2003, and the 26 draw controls broke the previous record of 25 against Long Island in 2012.
Not to be pushed aside,
Anna Hofgard netted her third hat trick of the season,
Maddie Myers tacked on her ninth of the year — including the goal that broke the single-game mark, and
Alex Agnew added her seventh. Freshman
Lily Manos, who entered the day with one goal on the year, collected her first career hat trick on four shots,
Kendall Seifert added a pair, freshman
Lauren Hart scored her second of the the year, and freshman
Brooke Tokushige netted the first goal of her collegiate career.
Myers added a match-high seven draw controls to go with a pair of caused turnovers, with six more coming off the stick of senior
Kate Graham, who moved into second on the school's single-season list with 81, and five more by
Ally Deremer. Larson added five ground balls to her stat line to go with 17 shots, while senior
Taylor Mathieson finished with eight saves in net for UC Davis.
The Aggies trailed 1-0 and were tied at two after goals by Agnew and Myers before finding a groove. Four straight scores — three of those by Larson — staked UC Davis to a 6-2 advantage, and the Aggies scored 10 of the final 13 goals of the opening half to lead 17-8 at he break after the Bulldogs had closed to within a pair twice.
Fresno State made it interesting to start the second, scoring four of the first five in the period to close the deficit to six at 18-12 just seven minutes in, but UC Davis pushed the pace the the tune of a 5-0 run to start the running clock and added another 4-0 burst en route to the victory.
The Aggies now await their championship game opponent as the Bulldogs will meet No. 2-seeded San Diego State in the conference semifinal on Friday (April 30) at 2 p.m. UC Davis then takes the field in search of the title on Saturday (May 1) at 2 p.m. against the semifinal winner.
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.
