Teams: No. 8 UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies, 11-2-2 (3-1-2); Matadors, 6-4-3 (2-0-2)
Where: Aggie Soccer Stadium
When: Today at 3 p.m.
Who to watch: Claimed by his teammates to have the hardest shot on the squad, senior midfielder Dylan Curtis‘ biggest contributions to the team are actually his assists, not his goals.
The Pleasanton, Calif. native has 10 helpers in 15 games, which is good for second in the country.
Did you know? In the 11 games this season in which the Aggies scored first, they are 10-0-1. In the five matches in which they have not netted the first goal, they are 1-2-1.
“It is important to score the first goal to take away the confidence of the other team,” head coach Dwayne Shaffer said. “It’s so much easier to play the game when you are winning 1-0.“
Preview: In the first week that the UC Davis men’s soccer team had cracked the top 10 rankings in its history, it also faced one of its biggest upsets of the season.
The bad week started with having to come back with two goals in the final 15 minutes on Oct. 15 against Cal State Fullerton to secure a tie. The Aggies then hit the road and fell to a struggling UC Riverside team, 2-1.
The first-place Aggies will have to put that behind them as they face each Big West Conference team ranked No. 2 through No. 5 in their final four matches, three of them at home.
First up for UC Davis is Cal State Northridge, which is recently off of a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Cal State Fullerton.
Sophomore forward Camilo Rojas scored in regulation with nine minutes remaining to tie the match, and then won it with another goal in 109th minute.
The Cali, Colombia native is tied for first on the squad with four goals, three of which have resulted in game-winners.
–Max Rosenblum
