Score: UC Davis 2, UC Santa Barbara 0
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Records: UC Davis 10-5-6 (4-3-2), UC Santa Barbara 11-5-4 (4-2-3)
The short story: UC Davis men's soccer clinched their spot in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, defeating UC Santa Barbara 2-0 in the Big West Championship Final. A brace from
Cason Goodman secured the Aggies' advancement to the program's fourth-ever NCAA Division I Tournament.
PITCH SIDE
- With the win, the Aggies became the first-ever No. 4 seed to win the Big West Championship and earned their second-ever Big West trophy, with the other coming in 2019
- UC Davis improves to 10-5-6 on the season and earns The Big West's automatic berth into the field of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship
- Goodman, a Santa Barbara native and the Championship's Most Valuable Player, led UC Davis with his third brace of the season, scoring his 10th and 11th goals of 2024
- Goodman's 19 career goals rank second all-time in UC Davis' Division I era
- Making their fifth appearance in the past seven seasons of the Big West Championship Final, Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer, who holds the 22nd most wins among active head coaches in Division I men's soccer, led the Aggies to his second Big West Championship Final victory
- Assisting Goodman's brace were seniors Keegan Walwyn-Bent and Kevin Welch
- The assist accounted for Walwyn-Bent's third on the year, and was Welch's first
- The Aggie backline was also incredible, limiting the Gauchos' attack for most of the night until they turned to desperation mode late
- UC Davis' defensive line of Cole Pond, Gavin House, Carson Hammond, and Zack Lillington, along with Goodman and Lucas Fernandez-Kim, played all 90 minutes and did not allow a shot on goal until the 72nd minute
- In goal, Noah Schwengeler recorded three saves, all of which came in the second half after facing a barrage of UC Santa Barbara shots late
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UC Davis dominated the first half, outshooting the Gauchos 5-3 in the first 45 minutes
- The Aggies opened the scoring in the 20th minute with Goodman finishing a perfectly placed ball from Walwyn-Bent
- Outworking the Gaucho backline, Goodman recorded his brace in the 44th minute with Welch finding Goodman, who sealed off his defender and delivered a left-footed finish to make it 2-0 just before halftime
- While the two goals showcased UC Davis' advantage, much of the credit also goes to the Aggies' backline, which kept the potent Gaucho attack at bay, not allowing UC Santa Barbara to record a single shot on target in the first half
- The Aggie backline continued to assert themselves in the second half, not allowing their first shot on goal until the 72nd minute
- Schwengeler made two of his three saves consecutively in the 72nd minute and got his third and final save of the game in the 86th minute
- Despite the Gauchos' 14 shot attempts in the second half, Schwengeler and the Aggies kept them off the board, recording his and the team's fourth shutout of the season to advance UC Davis to the NCAA Tournament
WHAT HEAD COACH DWAYNE SHAFFER HAD TO SAY
"Obviously, we're very happy and excited ... It takes a lot of bounces to go your way to win a Big West title and to make an NCAA tournament. We played outstanding in the first half ... I thought we were really good.
"In the second half, Tim made some huge adjustments, and they had to press the game. But I thought my team was outstanding defensively in the second half as well, and we held them scoreless ... Our keeper made a couple of really nice saves, our center backs made some great plays, but overall the effort defensively was outstanding in the second half.
"Most importantly, when you go on the road in a Big West championship game and score two goals, that is a big difference ... Cason's probably not only one of our most talented players but also our hardest worker. He's coachable, which is huge. He listens and works his tail off every day in practice ... He's also got the gift to score goals. If I'm correct, that's 11 on the season, which is outstanding. In college soccer today, anybody that scores 10 goals in a season deserves a lot of credit."
UP NEXT: With the Big West's automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship secured, the Aggies eagerly await their first-round opponent and location. This will be revealed on Monday at 10 a.m. PT during the selection show on NCAA.com
