Coach Jamey Wright knows he needs the help of his freshman to have a successful season.
For the second straight weekend, Wright got what he needed.
Freshman Carly Ternasky followed up her impressive Nor Cal Cup peformance with four goals at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational this weekend. Additionally, freshman Jessica Dunn had a coming out party in San Diego leading the Aggies with five goals for the tournament.
“You don’t see the contribution [Ternasky and Dunn] made from freshman,” Wright said.
The Aggies went 2-2 for the weekend, and are now 3-5 on the season.
Saturday – No. 15 UC Davis 10, No. 20 Maryland 5
Allowing one second-half score, the Aggies’ dominating defense led them to victory over the Terrapins in the first game of the weekend.
“We played solid against Maryland,” Wright said. “It was a great game all around.”
The Aggies had three players with hat tricks. Ternasky scored all four of her goals of the tournament in the first game, with junior Michelle Hook and senior Dana Nelson scoring three times each.
Saturday – No. 10 Loyola Marymount 16, UC Davis 8
After one half it looked like the Aggies could pull off the upset over the higher-ranked Lions.
A dominant third quarter by Loyola Marymount quieted those thoughts.
Loyola Marymount dominated UC Davis in the third period, outscoring the Aggies 6-2 en route to the victory.
“The wheels came off in the third,” Wright said. “The whole second half was disastrous.”
The Aggies continued to get contributions from across the board, as sophomores Ariel Feeney and Christina Miyabe each put up two goals. Five different Aggies scored in the contest.
Sunday – No. 14 UC Santa Barbara 7, UC Davis 4
Wright says that one of the Aggies’ Achilles heels this season is not playing their best during one quarter of a game.
This was evident in Sunday morning’s loss to Big West Conference foe UCSB.
UC Davis showed some sluggishness as the Gauchos jumped out to a 2-0 first quarter lead. The Aggies fought back but could not overcome the early Gaucho advantage.
“We got down and never got back in the game,” Wright said. “We played good three-quarters of the game.”
Sophomore Kaylee Miller registered two goals for the Aggies.
Sunday – UC Davis 14, No. 18 Cal State Bakersfield 3
The Aggies dominated Big West member Cal State Bakersfield in the final game of the weekend to earn seventh place for the tournament.
UC Davis had nine players tally a goal, with Dunn earning a hat trick.
The Aggies played strong all game including a dominating third quarter as they outscored the Roadrunners 6-2.
“We improved overall in the Bakersfield game,” Wright said. “We came out strong and never looked back.”
Despite the two losses, Wright was satisfied with how his team performed.
“I don’t get caught up with wins and losses,” Wright said. “I want to make sure we improved and I think we did over the weekend.”
JASON ALPERT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
