Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies 5-10-0 (2-4-0); Matadors 7-5-1 (2-2-0)
Where: Matador Field
When: Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Who to watch: Junior Julian Godinez has been an important piece of the UC Davis offense this season.
The Hercules, Calif. native is second on the team in shots on goal (nine), points (seven) and assists (three).
The Aggies need an offensive jump-start after two consecutive scoreless outings, so look for a spark to come from Godinez on the left side of the midfield.
Did you know? When the Aggies score they are most often successful.
They have only lost one game in which they scored two goals and have won each time they scored three.
If UC Davis is going to make a push for the Big West Conference Tournament, scoring early and often is going to be a necessity.
Preview: Today’s 3 p.m. start in Northridge will be the only time the Aggies and Matadors meet this season.
In last year’s matchup, UC Davis beat Cal State Northridge 3-2 on a late goal at Aggie Soccer Stadium. All three of the scores were netted by Aggies who have since graduated.
Despite having the same number of conference points as the Matadors, the Aggies still enter into the game as the underdog, trailing Northridge and its 2-2 Big West record.
Cal State Northridge is recently off of its biggest win of the season, a 1-0 win over No. 3 UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos had extended their Big West shutout-win streak to five against UC Davis on Wednesday before being shutout themselves by the Matadors on Saturday.
Though UC Santa Barbara will be a tough act to follow, there is no need for UC Davis to assume an undesirable result.
Cal State Northridge is coming off arguably its best game of the season, but duplicating that performance in consecutive games is always tough in the highly competitive Big West Conference.
The match, which is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kickoff, can be followed on GameTracker at ucdavisaggies.com.
– John S. Heller
