Teams: No. 11 UC Davis vs. No. 2 Stanford
Records: Aggies, 9-11; Cardinal, 17-2
When: Today at 6 p.m.
Where: Schaal Aquatics Center
Who to watch: Sophomore Aaron Salit has been hot this month.
The Mill Valley, Calif. native has scored seven goals in as many games in October after tallying seven goals in 14 September contests.
The goals have also netted Salit additional playing time. He’s averaging 14.7 minutes per game in his past six contests after averaging roughly 10 minutes per game earlier this season.
Did you know? UC Davis is in the midst of an eight-game stretch in which it faces six top-10 teams, including four of the nation’s top six.
Preview: After winning two of three last weekend, the Aggies hit the water once again to host Stanford.
UC Davis picked up victories against No. 16 Pacific and No. 20 Air Force on Saturday by scores of 7-5 and 12-10, respectively, before falling to No. 10 Long Beach State on Sunday, 9-7.
The Aggies did so with a revamped lineup, changing some defensive schemes prior to the Pacific game.
“We looked at the stats and decided that things weren’t working,” head coach Steve Doten said. “So we went back and started from zero. I was apprehensive about it, but then I was really happy to see that they could do it.“
Now, UC Davis turns its focus to a Stanford team that has won nine of its past 10 and 17 of 19 overall.
The last time the Aggies faced a top-five team, they fell to No. 3 California and then No. 5 Pepperdine on the same weekend.
“I hope we handle this weekend [better] than we did the Cal-Pepperdine weekend,” Doten said. “I think the guys got too caught up in the rankings and the names.
“I like to think we’re better prepared. We were successful last weekend, and Stanford, maybe the best team in the country, is coming to town. We’ll talk about Stanford’s strengths and what they’ll do to us, and I want to see us handle it mentally.“
– Adam Loberstein
