Teams: No. 16 UC Davis vs. Cal Poly
Records: Aggies, 8-1-1 (0-0-1); Mustangs, 6-2-2 (1-0-0)
Where: Aggie Soccer Stadium
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: A lot of national attention is given to the UC Davis offense, but scoring has not been the only solid force for the Aggies this year.
The play of sophomore goalkeeper Ryan McCowan has been a cornerstone of the Aggies‘ success thus far.
The Lafayette, Calif. native has only allowed eight goals in UC Davis‘ 10 contests this season. In preseason play, he led all Big West Conference keepers with a mere 0.76 goals allowed per game.
Did you know? In the first conference game for both UC Davis and Cal Poly, the squads combined for eight yellow cards – four per team – and one red card, courtesy of the Aggies.
Preview: After finishing non-conference play in style, the Aggies began Big West action on the road versus No. 18 UC Irvine.
In a game that lived up to the hype, UC Davis and UC Irvine tied 1-1 in double overtime.
The Aggies struck first, as they have eight times in their 10 games, with a goal from junior midfielder Paul Marcoux. National leader in assists Dylan Curtis got his ninth on the play.
The night got even better for UC Davis when senior defender David Sias from UC Irvine was red-carded in the 33rd minute.
But playing a man down wasn’t a problem for the Anteaters, as they battled back and scored the shorthanded equalizer in the 85th minute off the foot of sophomore forward Spencer Thompson.
UC Davis freshman defender Lance Patterson received a red card of his own in the 106th minute, and the Aggies and Anteaters played it out to tie.
Now, the Aggies will focus on Cal Poly in hopes of capturing their first Big West win.
The Mustangs took care of business in their first league game, dispatching Cal State Fullerton at home, 3-0.
Senior midfielder Julian Alvarez led the Mustangs to the win with two goals. Senior goalkeeper Eric Branagan-Franco recorded his 19th career shutout for Cal Poly.
–Max Rosenblum
