Teams: UC Davis at Davidson; vs. Appalachian State; vs. Radford
Records: Aggies, 3-6 (0-2); Wildcats, 2-8 (0-2); Mountaineers 5-5 (1-0); Highlanders, 3-5 (0-0)
Where: Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field – Davidson, N.C.
When: Today at 3 p.m.; Friday at 3 p.m.; Sunday at 9 a.m.
Who to watch: Lauren Sawvelle has been a solid presence between the pipes for the Aggies in her rookie campaign.
Disregarding a 5-1 loss to No. 14 Stanford on Sept. 20, the San Diego, Calif. native has played well this season having already posted one shutout.
In a 1-0 loss against NorPac Conference rival Pacific last Sunday, the only goal to go by Sawvelle was in the fourth minute. She posted an impressive 12 saves on the day.
Did you know? UC Davis competes in the West Division of the NorPac Conference against Stanford, Pacific and California. Despite traveling all the way to the East Coast this weekend, the Aggies will still be playing league games as Davidson, Appalachian State and Radford all belong to the East Division of the NorPac Conference.
Preview: After scoring a total of six goals in their first three games, the Aggies have had trouble finding the back of the net in their past six matches, only scoring three times in that span.
The offense will need to get back on track as UC Davis heads eastward to play three matches in a period of four days against competition from the East Division on the NorPac Conference.
UC Davis will first match up with a Davidson team that has been struggling of late.
The Wildcats won two out of their first three matches of the season before losing seven straight, including three to ranked opponents.
The Aggies offense may get a pick-me-up against the Wildcats as they have only scored nine goals on the season while allowing 38 scores on defense.
The Aggies then face the Mountaineers, a squad that is playing .500 field hockey for the season thus far. They have already claimed a win against Davidson by a 3-2 margin.
UC Davis‘ final opponent of the weekend, Radford, recently got back in the win column with a 5-0 victory over Robert Morris. The Highlanders had lost their previous three, but do have a contest with No. 15 James Madison before the match with the Aggies.
– Max Rosenblum
