In its first year of field hockey in over 27 years, UC Davis ended the season with a 3-15 mark.
Despite the 15-game losing streak, coach Vianney Campos believes that the program is headed in the right direction.
“I’m extremely pleased with the progress we’ve made this season,” Campos said. “We’ve established a great foundation from which we can build upon in the future.”
The final two games of the 2009 campaign came during the NorPac Conference Tournament.
The Aggies were first pitted against the Radford Highlanders in the opening round of play.
The game entered halftime in a scoreless tie.
The second half was a different story as the Highlanders pulled ahead and ultimately won 2-0.
The Aggies were at a disadvantage during the game as they were without forward Liz Siemion, who suffered a mild concussion during practice earlier in the week.
“She’s an integral part of our offensive attack because she plays both forward and midfield,” Campos said. “We definitely had a void to fill but the girls kept fighting and never complained. We just couldn’t find the cage. Who knows how things would have turned out if she was here with us.”
With the loss, the Aggies moved into the consolation round where they matched up against the Davidson Wildcats.
The highly contested match mirrored the one the Aggies had played a day before as no team was able to score in the first period.
Five minutes into the second half the Wildcats found the back of the net to get on the board first.
The Aggies would not go down quietly as freshman Lydia Brambila scored her first goal of the season in the 52nd minute to tie the game at one.
The game remained in a deadlock after 70 minutes of play, sending the contest into overtime.
Ten minutes into the extra session, Davidson put one between the pipes to capture the 2-1 victory over UC Davis.
For her impressive performance over the weekend, Brambila was one of 12 players from the eight NorPac squads named to the All-Tournament team.
For the 2009 Aggies, win and losses weren’t everything.
Determination and drive were just as important. These are two things that Campos believes are key in building a strong field hockey program.
“We’ve made an impression on field hockey in California which will help us recruit and build on this foundation,” Campos said. “The way this team fought really sets the tone for next season and beyond.”
MARK LING can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
