DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis sophomore
Maximilian Arfsten logged only the eighth hat trick in school history, adding an assist as part of a seven-point day, and
Ryan Dieter collected his second goal of the year as part of a four-goal first half, lifting the Aggies to a 4-1 victory over visiting San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon at Aggie Soccer Field.
The victory marked UC Davis' third straight, outscoring opponents by a 10-1 marking in that span, while improving to 3-5 overall on the year. The Aggies' four goals were the most since they put up the same number in a 4-2 win over Saint Mary's on Oct. 5, 2019.
Meanwhile, Arfsten became the first UC Davis player to log a hat trick since
Sule Anibaba's three goals against Pittsburgh in 2007, joining a list that includes former Aggie standouts David Davis (five goals vs. Notre Dame de Namur in 1989), Sean Buchanan (at Cal Poly Pomona in 1999), James Brusca (vs. Notre Dame de Namur in 1995), Peter Faeth (vs. Stanislaus State and CSU Bakersfield in 1993), and Jake Gwin (vs. Notre Dame de Namur in 1990).
Arfsten's first goal broke the seal just four minutes in as a cross across the box was too long, but settled by
Robert Mejia, who created space and chipped a ball into the box that Arfsten calmly ran on to and finished to the bottom left corner for the 1-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, Arfsten put his head on a cross from
Grant Fidler that the San Francisco goalkeeper was able to get a finger on, but not enough to push it over the net as the ball redirected and bounced in to the right side for the 2-0 lead.
The Fresno, Calif., native completed the hat trick in the 31st minute as Fidler stole the ball near midfield and fed the ball ahead to Arfsten, who outraced his defender and chipped the ball past the keeper from a sharp angle on the right side for the 3-0 advantage.
The Dons answered with their first goal of the match in the 38th minute, snapping UC Davis' shutout streak at 216:09, but the euphoria was short-lived for the visitors as the Aggies snatched the goal back only 43 seconds later.
Arfsten took a long ball from goalkeeper
Derrek Chan, created space and fired a shot that hit the USF goalkeeper in the hands, but he couldn't corral it, falling to the feet of Dieter just outside the six. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native took a touch and put a right-footed shot past the defense to a wide open left side for the 4-1 advantage.
UC Davis finished with a 15-14 shot advantage, putting seven of those attempts on frame, while posting seven corners to just two for the Dons. Arfsten led all Aggies with seven shots on the afternoon, while Chan made three stops in net.
The non-conference schedule comes to an end on Saturday (Sept. 25) as UC Davis hosts Pacific at 4 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field.
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.
