Davis, Calif. — Ashleigh Garcia's first career goal was the determining factor en route to UC Davis' first Big West win of the season against Long Beach State, prevailing 1-0 Thursday night at Aggie Soccer Field.
In front of over 600 fans in attendance, UC Davis stayed undefeated within Big West play thanks in part to Garcia's strike in the 77th minute off a perfectly executed corner set piece.
Inserted from the far-side corner by senior Molly Branigan, Garcia was able to get past an over-aggressive Long Beach State defender and find daylight, delivering the most important shot of her young Aggie career, tucking it in the upper-right corner just from outside the box.
A very fast-paced game filled with hard nose defense on both sides of the pitch, all the fans in attendance could start to get a sense early on that it would only take one goal to secure the victory.
During the first 45 minutes of action, the Aggie defense and midfield stepped up big time. The Aggies halted six corners from the Beach with the backline of Lindsey Porter, Bella Mayo, Elise Picard, and Sammie Ruelas not giving the Beach any quality looks on goal. Playing a big part in organizing this unit was Caeley Goldstein.
Entering the night leading the Big West in goals against average, Goldstein proved yet again why she should be considered among the best goalkeepers in the conference, coming up with multiple saves tonight along with well-timed punch-aways to kill all of the Beach's momentum and striking presence on the numerous amount of corner opportunities and crossing attempts.
The defense carried this momentum from the first half and was outstanding the rest of the game as well, making play after play to preserve the clean sheet and give UC Davis their fifth shutout of the year.
With Garcia's goal coming later in the second half, a lot of that was set up by the early attacking presence that flipped the tide of the game in UC Davis' favor. Only taking two shots in the first half as a result of game-flow, the Aggies were a totally different offensive unit in the final 45 minutes.
Right away to begin the second half, the Aggies notched four shots and had their first real scoring chance in the 46th minute. A look from Emma Vane was first saved by the Long Beach goalkeeper, and then a flurry of three consecutive shots from Leslie Fregoso, Risa Yamada, and Sammie Ruelas took place in the box before the Beach scurried away with no damage done.
It was only a matter of time before the Aggies would capitalize on and in the 77th minute, Garcia delivered.
With the late 1-0 lead, UC Davis maintained its composure and limited the Beach to just one shot, allowing the Aggies to preserve the advantage and come away with all three points.
The win lifts the Aggies to second in the Big West standings, as Tracy Hamm's squad sits comfortably at 5-4-2 overall and 1-0-2 in Big West action.
UP NEXT
Senior Day will take place on Sunday, October 1 as the Aggies host UC San Diego for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. Prior to the match, the senior class of Leslie Fregoso, Risa Yamada, Lindsey Porter, and Molly Branigan will all be honored for the contributions they have made to the UC Davis program and the Davis community
