50.1 F
Davis

Davis, California

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Men’s soccer preview

Teams: No. 17 UC Davis at No. 13 Michigan

Records: Aggies, 13-4-4; Wolverines, 12-5-3

Where: U-M Soccer ComplexAnn Arbor, Mich.

When: Today at 11 a.m.

Who to watch: After starting only two games in the regular season, senior midfielder Dan Campbell made a name for himself in a starting role against Denver in the first round on the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Campbell, a native of Benicia, Calif., had a free kick in the first period that set up his team’s first goal. He later assisted on Sule Aninbaba’s goal off of a throw in 11 minutes into the second half.

Did you know? Michigan is 2-0-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at home. The Wolverines also won a program-record eight home matches this season, outscoring their opponents 23-11 in those contests.

Preview: The Aggies didn’t let an early exit from the 2007 NCAA Tournament bother them on Saturday.

A year after being sent packing by California in its first-ever tournament game, UC Davis manhandled Denver in the first Division I home playoff match in school history, 4-0.

With the win, the team moves on to face Michigan in the second round.

This test won’t be as easy for the Aggies, as they will have to travel over 2,200 miles to play a game in which the temperature is expected to drop as low as 27 degrees with some snow showers.

UC Davis head coach Dwayne Shaffer is positive, however, that as long as the Aggies play their game, there is not much that can stop them.

“The one thing about this particular team is when we are clicking like we were [against Denver], we are really hard to play against,he said.

Michigan’s high-powered offense is led by juniors Perica Marosevic and Mauro Fuzetti, who have 12 and nine goals, respectively, to go along with a combined seven assists.

In goal for the Wolverines is Patrick Sperry. The junior led Michigan to 12 wins with a mere 1.00 goal allowed per game average and 60 saves on the season.

UC Davis keeper Ryan McCowan has been equally impressive, helping the Aggies to 13 wins in posting eight shutouts while holding opponents to a 0.82 goals against average.

Max Rosenblum

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