Teams: No.16 UC Davis vs. No. 2 California
Records: Aggies, 12-12; Bears, 14-4
When: Sunday at Noon
Where: Schaal Aquatics Center
Who to watch: After going four games without a score, junior Cory Lyle regained the Aggie scoring lead with an impressive hat-trick performance against No. 10 Concordia last Sunday.
The Carlsbad, Calif. native leads the Aggies with 24 goals in 24 games.
Did you know? UC Davis Head Coach Steve Doten is facing more than just his alma mater this Sunday, he is also facing his old teammate in UC Berkeley head coach Kirk Everist.
The UC Berkeley and UC Davis head coaches graduated the same year (1990) from Cal, and helped the Golden Bears to back-to-back national championships in ’87 and ’88.
Preview: After a weekend of upsetting losses and dropping four spots to the lowest ranking the team has had all year, the Aggies are looking to bounce back against what many think is the best team in the country in UC Berkeley.
The Aggies and Bears met earlier this season at Cal, with the Golden Bears dominating UC Davis 12-4.
Although, freshman Colin Hicks in his collegiate debut managed to score a hat trick and sophomore Kevin Peat tallied seven saves in cage, UC Davis was unable to keep the game close, let alone get the win.
The Aggies are looking to attack the Bears at all angles with a variety of scoring options at the top: Lyle (24), Hicks (22), Jim Breen (21) and junior Matt Richardson (19). Richardson also leads UC Davis with 25 assists and 23 steals.
UC Davis is going to need all the firepower they have for one of just three home games on the season against 13-time national champions California.
The action starts at noon in Schaal Aquatics Center for fans interested in watching some top-flight collegiate water polo.
– Sammy Brasch
