SEATTLE — Senior biochemical engineering major
Grant Fidler wasted little time in getting the UC Davis men's soccer team on the board in 2021, scoring just four minutes into his team's season opener on Thursday night against the No. 9 team in the nation, but it was Washington which scored the game-winner with a little more than four minutes remaining in double overtime, lifting the host Huskies to a 2-1 victory.
The goal was the first of Fidler's career, coming at the 3:55 mark of the match. He capitalized off a Washington turnover and poked home a left-footed shot for the 1-0 lead. The senior finished a rainy Pacific Northwest evening with a team-high five shot attempts, putting a pair on frame.
It marked the 10th-fastest goal to start a match in school history and the quickest since current teammate
Andy Velasquez scored just 54 seconds into a contest against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 20, 2018.
The score remained that way until the 28th minute when Gio Miglietti netted the equalizer off an assist by Dylan Teves to make it 1-1, heading down a cross at the back post to tie the match.
Both teams had their chances in the second half only to come up empty, and the Aggies took the only shot in the first overtime to go along with three corner opportunities, but could not dent the back of the net.
That set the stage for Teves in the second overtime, converting a pass from teammate Lucas Meek for the winner to the bottom left side of the net.
UC Davis out-shot Washington, 12-11, and had six corners to only four for the Huskies for the night, but both defenses were stout, limiting their respective offensive counterparts to only four shots on goal.
The Aggies conclude their Pacific Northwest swing with a match at Seattle University on Saturday (Aug. 28) at 7 p.m.
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.
