Teams: UC Davis at No. 13 Stanford
Records: Aggies, 3-10 (0-3); Cardinal, 11-2 (3-1)
Where: Varsity Field Hockey Turf – Stanford, Calif.
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: In all three Aggie wins this season, a forward has scored the game-winning goal. One of those forwards, junior Erin LemMon, will be the key to a UC Davis victory on Saturday.
Of Erin’s 26 teammates, 24 are freshmen and two are sophomores. Her two years of experience on the Aggie club team will be an asset to Coach Vianney Campos against a tough Stanford team.
“Our strength is our forwards,” Campos said. “Our team has to work together if we’re going to come out on top.”
Having started every game this season, LemMon will need to lead the charge and help keep her team focused against the Cardinal.
Did you know? Despite the fact that this is the last regular season matchup between the Aggies and the Cardinal, this will not be the last time UC Davis travels to Stanford.
Starting in early November, the NorPac conference tournament will be held at Varsity Turf. This three-day tournament will pit Davis against its conference rivals, Stanford, California and Pacific.
While the Aggies expect to win every game, they are keeping their eyes on the prize.
“We obviously prepare to win every game,” Campos said. “But win or lose, we try to improve with each game. We’re thrilled to improve and to prepare for the NorPac tournament.”
Preview: The Aggies are aware that Stanford will be a tough matchup this Saturday but as the more athletic team, they know what they have to do to win.
“We have to stay composed and find a way to expose them,” Campos said. “Obviously, they’re ranked 13th so they won’t have many weaknesses but we know that they’re going to try and force us to the outside.
“We just have to get the ball to the center of the field. They’re a finesse team but we’re more athletic. We have to use our speed and we can’t let them control us.”
The Aggies have the recipe for success, all they need to do on Saturday is turn up the heat.
– Mark Ling
