Event: NorPac Conference Tournament
Teams: UC Davis vs. Radford; TBA; TBA
Records: Aggies, 3-13 (0-6); Highlanders, 9-9 (5-1)
Where: Varsity Field Hockey Turf – Palo Alto, Calif.
When: Today at 4 p.m.
Who to watch: Forward Marissa Hughes has been relentless in the offensive circle this season; she is second on the team with 22 shots on goal.
The freshman from Vista, Calif. led her team with three shots on goal when the Aggies faced the Highlanders a month ago.
If Hughes keeps up her aggressive style of play, look for her to score some goals in Thursday’s tournament opener.
Did you know? Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Sawvelle had 10 saves on Saturday against Pacific. For her performance, she was named the NorPac West Division Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 2. It was the second time Sawvelle received such honors this season.
Preview: Today, the Aggies and Highlanders will meet for the second time in 2009.
UC Davis is the fourth seed in the West Division while Radford finished first in the East.
Earlier in the season, the Aggies fell to the Highlanders 2-1 and on paper look to be outmatched. Coach Vianney Campos doesn’t believe that this will affect her team.
“To be honest, there’s no better matchup for us,” Campos said. “We play similar styles because we’re both quick and aggressive. We will be prepared and if we capitalize on their mistakes we’ll be in good shape.”
Should the Aggies dispatch the Highlanders this afternoon, they will matchup with the winner of the California vs. Davidson game. That game is scheduled to start tomorrow at 4 p.m.
If UC Davis falls to Radford, it will face the loser of that same match with the start of that game coming at 6:30 p.m.
Regardless of a win or a loss, the Aggies will only have one day to prepare, something that Campos says shouldn’t be an issue.
“That kind of thing is nothing new to us,” Campos said. “We had a couple of road trips where we played three games in four days. We know that [with a win] we’d probably have to face Cal but either way we adjust to each team as they come.”
The championship match of the tournament is Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
– Mark Ling
