DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis women's lacrosse team notched their first win of the season in commanding fashion, defeating the Akron Zips 20-7 in front of a supportive home crowd at UC Davis Health Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Ella Brislin and Grace Gebhardt led the way for the Aggies (1-1) in their second game of the weekend, following a neutral site loss to Niagara on Friday Brislin logged five goals, all in the first half, while Gebhart dished out four assists and scored the goal of the game on a remarkable behind-the-head shot late in the second quarter.
After a slow start to the period, which saw both teams tied at one apiece through the first eight minutes of play, UC Davis began to unlock their offense, scoring four straight goals before an Akron buzzer beater stopped their run. The Aggies led 5-2 after 15 minutes of play.
Akron scored the first goal of the second quarter, but it was all UC Davis after that. The Aggies scored six straight times to balloon the lead to eight, 11-3, and finished the period ahead 15-4.
Offense slowed down in the second half as the Aggies focused on maintaining their advantage. Five different Aggies scored in the final 30 minutes as UC Davis expanded their lead by two.
Freshman Cami Johnson collected the first hat trick of her career, while Ellie Raffo found the back of the net twice for her first two career scores.
Ashley Liang and Ally Richardson-Pepper were stout in the goal, combining to save nine Akron shots.
The Aggies take the field next on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 12:00 p.m. against San Diego State. This will be a matchup of the two newest additions to the Pac-12 conference, though will not count as a conference game in the Pac-12 standings.
