DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis (1-3-1) is back at home for a second consecutive Sunday evening match when the Aggies host Pacific (0-5-0) in a non-conference match at Aggie Soccer Field this Sunday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The contest will also mark the third consecutive home match to take place on a Sunday night over the last four weeks. This Sunday's match will be streamed live on MW+ and live stats will be available via Stat Broadcast. Tickets for the matchup between the Aggies and Tigers can be purchased online or on gameday at Aggie Soccer Field.
"We're really looking forward to being back under the lights on Sunday," head coach Kat Mertz said. "We have a great fan base that helps create such a special atmosphere, and we're going to need that energy on Sunday night. Our team has had a great week of training, putting in a lot of work on our movement in the final third and continuing to sharpen the details of our game. We are ready to get back on the field, compete and work hard for 90 minutes."
Prior to a 1-1 tie at home last Sunday night against UC Santa Barbara, the Aggies opened the 2026 season with a 2-0 victory at Fresno State before dropping three straight contests at home against Sacramento State (1-0) and on the road at Saint Mary's (3-0) and at Santa Clara (1-0).
Pacific has lost its first five contests of the 2026 campaign at Sacramento State (5-2), vs. Nevada (2-1), at San Diego State (7-0), at UC San Diego (2-0) and vs. Weber State (1-0).
This Sunday night's game will also serve as Suicide Prevention Awareness Night. UC Davis players and coaches will wear teal and purple ribbons on their uniforms.
"Suicide prevention is about reminding people that they are not alone and that their lives matter," Mertz said. "Soccer is about more than what happens between the lines - it's about people, relationships and the community we build together. Sunday gives us an opportunity to use our platform to raise awareness, and remind people that it's okay to ask for help."
Single-game tickets for all UC Davis home matches including Sunday's contest against Pacific are $10 for youth (3-13 years old) and $13 for general admission. Flexbooks - packs of 10 tickets redeemable in any combination - are $85. Discounted group tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit ucdavisaggies.evenue.net, contact the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or email aggietickets@ucdavis.edu.
Event parking will be honored in Lot 25 and the Pavilion Parking Structure for all home games through Sept. 11. The cost for weekday games is $5.50, while weekends are free but both require parking permits. There is construction work in the area and fans should follow posted signage around the Pavilion Parking Structure, Lot 25 and Aggie Soccer Field to enter the venue.
PACIFIC AT UC DAVIS - SEPTEMBER 6, 2026
FOLLOW
NOTES
UC DAVIS-PACIFIC SERIES
- UC Davis leads the all-time series, 10-7-2, but Pacific is 4-3-1 over the eight all-time games played in Davis.
- The Aggies hold a 7-1-2 advantage in the last 10 matches played between the teams (2011 - present) after Pacific won six of the first nine (1994-2010).
- UC Davis has won the single game played between the teams in each of the past two seasons and was a 2-1 winner the last time the teams met on Aug. 17, 2025, in Stockton. The victory was also the first Aggie win for current UC Davis head coach Kat Mertz. Ana Coverdale had a first-half goal for the Aggies before Genavieve Fontes delivered the game-winner in the second half. Both goals were assisted by Sarah Canavan.
- Pacific was a 1-0 winner the last time the teams played in Davis on Aug. 25, 2022. It also is the Tigers' most recent victory in the series.
- Pacific won the first-ever meeting between the teams with a 2-1 victory in Stockton on Oct. 6, 1994.
- Pacific also won the first-ever meeting between the schools in Davis with a 5-1 win on Oct. 20, 1997.
- UC Davis' first win in the series was a 1-0 victory in Stockton on Oct. 31, 2004.
- UC Davis has the longest unbeaten streak in the series, going 5-0-2 in seven games from 2011-19, while Pacific's four straight victories from 2007-10 is the longest win streak.
2026 SEASON
- SUNDAY SPECIAL: For the third time in the last four Sunday nights, UC Davis is hosting a home game. It won't be the last time the Aggies host on a Sunday this season, but it will be the final Sunday night match. The three remaining Sunday home matches vs. Idaho (Sept. 20), Hawai'i (Oct. 18) and UTEP (Nov. 1, Senior Day) will each kick off at 1 p.m.
- LOTS OF PLAYERS SEEING ACTION AND MAKING STARTS: UC Davis has played 24 of the 28 players on the roster in at least one match over the first five contests, while 16 different players have made at least one start. M Kaya Herndon was the most recent player to make a start last Sunday against UC Santa Barbara, while Samantha Murdin and Viet-Thy Tran both made their season debuts with Murdin's also her first collegiate and UC Davis appearance. Only four players - D Kiley Fehrenbacher, D Sydnie Fong, F Lakelee Perkins and D Courtney Wagner - have started all five contests.
- ROSTER MAKEUP AND NEWCOMERS IMPACT: The 28-player roster is a nearly equal mix of returnees (15) and newcomers (13), including six first-year transfers in F Ashley Brewer (Cal Poly), F Jaycee DeFazio (Cal Poly), D Sydney Fong (San Diego/Nevada), GK Dina Frenkel (Purdue), D Stella Villalta (Santa Clara) and GK Piper Wilkison (Butler). UC Davis has had 11 newcomers see the field with the six first-year transfers joined by five true freshmen (M Payton Henry, F Presley Henry, F/M Kaya Herndon, F Chloe Keating, D Samantha Murdin). The group has played in a combined 39 games and made 25 starts.
- FEHRENBACHER STREAK: D Kiley Fehrenbacher has started all 24 UC Davis matches played in 2025 (19) and 2026 (5) since transferring from Oregon prior to the 2025 campaign.
- CAPTAINS: The team captains are M Savannah Cordero, M Ashleigh Garcia and D Livi Lewis.
- MOUNTAIN WEST: UC Davis is playing as a member of the Mountain West for the first season after most recently being part of the Big West in 2025. The Aggies' first Mountain West match is scheduled to be played at Air Force on Sept. 24, while UC Davis will host Wyoming in its first home MW match.
- PRESEASON WATCH LIST: Three Aggies - F Ashley Brewer, M Savannah Cordero and D Courtney Wagner - were named to the preseason Mountain West women's soccer watch list.
- MOUNTAIN WEST POLL: UC Davis was selected to finish eighth in the Mountain West in the league's preseason poll.
- HEAD COACH KAT MERTZ: Mertz is in her second season at the helm of the Aggies' and 20th campaign as a head coach with previous stops at UNLV (2005-09), St. Louis (2012), Oregon (2013-19) and MSU Denver (2020-24) before taking over at UC Davis in 2025. She has also been an assistant coach at Virginia (1999), UCLA (2000-04) and Texas (2010-11). In addition, Mertz has held various roles with the U.S. Women's National Team and Olympic Development Program.
- ASSISTANT COACHES: Aggie assistant coaches Emilee Tominovich and Abbie Faingold are back for a second season, while Travis Clarke is in his first campaign with UC Davis. Clarke has 14 seasons of experience as a collegiate head coach with stints at Hawai'i-Hilo (2006-08), Cal State San Bernardino (2009-13) and Saint Mary's (2014-19).
GAME RECAPS
MATCH 1 - UC DAVIS 2, AT FRESNO STATE 0 - AUGUST 12, 2026
Cal extended its unbeaten string in season openers to seven (6-0-1) with a 2-0 win at Fresno State. F Jaycee DeFazio and F Ashley Brewer, both first-year transfers from Cal Poly, accounted for Cal's first goal of the match when DeFazio rebounded Brewer's shot off the post and placed it into the back of the net. Brewer was credited with an assist on the play. UC Davis' second goal came on a corner kick when M Payton Henry came out of a pile with the ball and fed D KIley Fehrenbacher for a goal. GK Dina Frenkel played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded a shutout. The August 12 date was the earliest in the calendar year the Aggies have ever opened a campaign and the first day of the 2026 season for collegiate women's soccer across the nation.
MATCH 2 - SACRAMENTO STATE 1, AT UC DAVIS 0 - AUGUST 16, 2026
UC Davis took Causeway rival Sacramento State down to the wire before falling, 1-0, in its home opener. The Aggies had a pair of scoring chances to tie the match while trailing 1-0 but shots in the 84th minute from M Savannah Cordero and F Ashley Brewer were off the right post and just left of the goal, respectively. The teams were scoreless into the 74th minute before Sacramento State M Ellie Farber tallied the contest's only goal when she converted a penalty kick into the lower right section of the net after she was fouled by Aggies' M Stella Villalta in the penalty box.
MATCH 3 - AT SAINT MARY'S 3, UC DAVIS 0 - AUGUST 20, 2026
Saint Mary's scored twice in the first half before adding another goal late in the second in a 3-0 victory over UC Davis In a nonconference match. The Gaels' first-half goals by Zoe Maikai (12:49) and Ashlyn Vaughn (31:17) were both unassisted, while Lexi Chatterton fed Brooke Fairbanks for Saint Mary's third and final tally (79:15). UC Davis had a limited number of scoring chances with five shots (one each by five different players) and two on goal from M Presley Henry and D Stella Villalta. Both of the Aggies' shots on goal were saved by Saint Mary's goalkeeper Soraya Souvanaphong en route to a solo shutout. Souvanaphong and Aggies' keeper Dina Frenkel (3 GA, 4 SV) both played all 90 minutes in goal.
MATCH 4 - AT SANTA CLARA 1, UC DAVIS 0 - AUGUST 27, 2026
UC Davis knocked on the doorstep in the final seconds before dropping a 1-0 decision in a nonconference match at Santa Clara at Stevens Stadium-Buck Shaw Field. The Aggies drew a foul just outside the penalty box on their final possession but Sydney Bushman's free kick failed to reach the goal and the Broncos escaped with a one-goal win. Santa Clara's Lexie Douglass had the match's lone goal in the ninth minute on assists from Adee Goulden and Addie Whitehouse. UC Davis goalkeeper Piper Wilkison had four saves in her Aggies' debut including a spectacular one in the 49th minute to keep UC Davis within a goal. Wilkison is a first-year transfer from Butler.
MATCH 5 - AT UC DAVIS 1, UC SANTA BARBARA 1 - AUGUST 30, 2026
UC Davis dominated much of a 1-1 tie with UC Santa Barbara in a nonconference home match. The Aggies gave up a goal to the Gauchos' Delilah Vega-Agular on an assist from Chayse Yu in the opening minute of the contest before Lakelee Perkins scored the equalizer on arguably the Aggies' prettiest goal of the season when she headed in a corner kick from Courtney Wagner in the 22nd minute. Despite getting off another 10 shots, including three more on goal, the Aggies could not add the game-winner. Both teams had shots go off the top of the crossbar in the second half from the Aggies' Kaya Herndon in the 60th minute and the Gauchos' Isabella Ong with just 53 ticks remaining on the clock. The Aggies finished with advantages of 14-6 in shots and 5-2 in shots on goal, as well as 3-0 in corner kicks.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS
UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026-27.
For more information, visit ucdavisaggies.com.
