LONG BEACH STATE, Calif. — Aleix Athnar Beltran netted a hat trick as No. 7 UC Davis (12-6, 1-0) came back from a three goal halftime deficit to secure a 9-8 road victory over No. 9 Long Beach State (12-7, 0-2) on Friday afternoon. The win is the Aggies' first in Big West conference play this season and their second over Long Beach in the last week, having defeated the Beach in Sunday's Big West-WCC Clash championship game.
It was a shaky start for the visitors, as Long Beach jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period.
The Aggies seemed to settle down after the initial barrage, tying the game with goals from Beltran and Logan Anderson. The Beach kept their foot on the gas, though, and scored three of the next four goals to take a 6-3 lead into the half.
UC Davis pumped in two quick goals to open the second half, one from Max Stryker and the other from Aaron Voggenthaler. With the offense beginning to click, the defense followed suit, shutting down the Long Beach attack for the first six minutes of the third quarter allowing the Aggies to find the back of the net twice more to take their first lead of the game at 7-6.
Long Beach scored on consecutive possessions to retake the lead with just over a minute to play in the third, putting UC Davis back on their heels for a brief moment, before Beltran rifled in a goal to enter the final period knotted at 8-8.
UC Davis clamped down in the fourth quarter, only allowing the Beach to get off four shots, none of which resulted in a goal.
With just under six minutes to play, Anderson found Will Nomura inside for what would prove to be the clincher.
Aaron Wilson finished the game with 10 saves, including the game-winning block as time ran out.
"I'm very proud of how our team competed today to eke out a victory on the road," UC Davis head coach Dan Leyson said after the game. "We had a total team effort today and we needed it against a strong Long Beach squad."
The Aggies play their next game closer to home, traveling to Stockton, Calif. for a Sunday showdown with the 13th ranked University of the Pacific at 1:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
