Davis, Calif. - With training camp and two exhibition matches concluded, the Aggies are ready to kick off the 2022 season with two road matches on Thursday and Sunday.
GAME 1
Who: UTEP Miners
Where: El Paso, Tex. (University Field)
When: 6 p.m. PST
How to Watch:
Conference USA TV
How to Follow:
Live Stats
Game 2
Who: Santa Clara Broncos
Where: Santa Clara, Calif.
When: 6 p.m.
How to Watch:
WCC Sports TV
How to Follow:
Live Stats
UC Davis Women's Soccer Twitter
UC Davis Women's Soccer Instagram
ABOUT THE MINERS
UTEP is led by Kathryn Balogun (17-25-5) in her fourth season as the head coach of the Miners...The Miners went 4-12 in 2021, with one of those losses coming against the Aggies 3-2 on Aug. 29, 2021...
Emma Vane scored the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute of that game to break a 1-1 tie, with Vane also netting the opening score and
Emma Hasco scoring in the 37th minute...Thursday will be the third meeting all-time between the programs...UC Davis fell to UTEP in a neutral site game in Riverside, Calif. 3-1 on Sept. 12, 2004 prior to last season's win in Davis.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS
Jerry Smith (523-167-66) enters his 36th season at the helm of the Broncos in 2022...Santa Clara has been a juggernaut under Smith with double-digit win totals in 13 straight seasons and just one season with single-digit wins in his tenure...The 2020 NCAA Champions, Santa Clara went 15-5-3 in 2021 and defeated Stanford, Georgetown, Wisconsin, and Duke on its way to the NCAA College Cup Semifinal where it fell to BYU 3-2 on PKs...Santa Clara is ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches poll...UC Davis enters Sunday's matchup 2-10-1 all-time against the Broncos...The teams have not faced one another since Aug. 21, 2015, a 2-0 loss in Davis...The Aggies are looking for their first win against Santa Clara since 1982.
PRESEASON PICKS
UC Davis achieved its highest preseason conference ranking under Head Coach
Tracy Hamm when the Big West Conference annouced its annual Preseason Coaches' Poll on Monday. The Aggies were picked to finish fifth in 2022.
FREGOSO, YAMADA PICKED FOR PRESEASON COACHES' TEAM
Junior
Leslie Fregoso and sophomore
Risa Yamada were both selected to the Big West Conference Preseason Coaches' Team on Monday. Fregoso and Yamada's selections made UC Davis one of just two schools to have multiple student-athletes on the team.
A junior entering her third season, Fregoso was named the 2021 All-Big West Conference First Team last season and earned a preseason team selection for the second straight season. Fregoso was also named to the 2019 Big West All-Freshman Team, giving her a conference honor each season of her career. She started all 18 games in 2021 and led UC Davis in goals (7), assists (8), and shots on goal (31) with four game winners - all career-highs.
Her assist total was the best single-season mark in the program's Division I era while her 22 points and four game winners both tied the program mark in the Division 1 era. She enters 2022 sixth in the Division I era in career points, tied for third in game-winning goals, fifth in assists, and sixth in total shots.
Yamada was named to the 2021 All-Big West Conference First Team, making 13 starts and scoring six goals with four assists in her debut season. The sophomore went on a five-game stretch from Sept. 5 to Sept. 26 recording at least a point in games against Idaho State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, CSU Bakersfield, and CSUN. She was twice responsible for the scoring in Aggie wins, netting both goals of a 2-0 win over Cal Poly on Oct. 13 and had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over UC Irvine on Oct. 17.
