DAVIS, Calif. – It ended in heartbreak for UC Davis on its Senior Night inside UC Davis Health Stadium, falling 1-0 to Causeway rivals Sacramento State on Saturday evening. However, it was not all bad news for Aggies fans as the team receivable favorable results from around the Big West on the final match day to retain fourth place in the conference, earning home field in the first round of the postseason tournament.
Prior to kickoff, seniors
Ryan Dieter,
Sean Bilter, and
Ethan Hoard - along with redshirt junior
Charles Janssen – were honored for their hard work and dedication to the UC Davis men's soccer program.
UC Davis finishes on 13 points for the campaign and posts a regular season record of 7-7-3 (4-4-1 Big West). The Hornets (4-10-4, 1-4-4 Big West) grabbed their first conference win of the year after tonight's performance, finishing their difficult season on a high note.
An early goal from the visitors proved to be the game-winning moment for the team from the capital city. In the 9
th minute, a scuffed clearance in the box fell to the feet of Michael Gonzalez and he needed just one touch to deposit his shot into the back of the net.
The Aggies dominated possession but were unable to find rhythm in the attack while the Hornets played some brilliant counterattacking soccer to create a multitude of scoring opportunities. Sacramento State led in the shots column 14-12 and created quite a few chances to double their lead in the second half, proving to be dangerous in the final third.
UC Davis nearly found its equalizer just before the halftime whistle blew when
Cole Pond fired a rocket from well outside the penalty area to force the Hornets' goalkeeper Edgar Guerra into an impressive save before
Lucas Fernandez-Kim's attempt on the rebound was denied once again by the man between the sticks. Guerra would tally a career-high 10 saves in his excellent goalkeeping display.
The left back was close to scoring the leveler just after the second-half kickoff when Pond's close-range shot was kept out despite stinging the palms of the keeper.
The best chance of the evening came to
Chase Tanon with just under 10 minutes left to play.
Tristan Wouters played a wonderful lofted pass to the striker who took a delicate first touch to bring the ball down, but saw his effort denied by a good reaction save.
The Hornets would hold on for the 1-0 win and UC Davis would be shutout for the fifth time this season.
Goals
9' – Sacramento State (Gonzalez)
Up Next
The Ags will host number five seed Cal Poly in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Nov. 1. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Field.
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