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Thursday, March 28, 2024

UC Davis successful at Seawolf Splash

When a team scores 58 goals in four games, they’re going to have a successful weekend.

That’s what UC Davis (6-6) did at the Sonoma State Seawolf Splash tournament over the weekend as 14 Aggies scored a goal.

“We got the opportunity to play a lot of different players this weekend,” coach Jamey Wright said. “We have a deep team and it showed.”

Wright believes the high scores were partly due to the shorter, non-regulation pool used by Sonoma State.

“With a smaller pool players can get up and down the pool faster, leading to more shots on goal,” Wright said. “This can either be good or bad, and it helped us this weekend.”

Junior Rachelle Smith led all Aggies with seven goals for the weekend.

Saturday – No. 15 UC Davis 16, Cal Lutheran 9

The Aggies started off the weekend on a good note, defeating one of the top Division III teams in the nation.

Sophomore Ariel Feeney led all of UC Davis with four goals, good for her first career hat trick. Senior Dana Nelson and freshman Carly Ternasky each earned hat tricks as well.

The Aggies opened up the game hot and entered half time with a 12-4 lead. With the early lead, Wright made sure a lot of players got some minutes.

“We were able to sub a lot,” Wright said. “We got to make sure a lot of freshmen got some playing time.”

Saturday – UC Davis 20, Sonoma State 7

Throughout the season, Wright has been waiting for his team to play the complete game.

He got his wish in Saturday’s nightcap against the host Seawolves.

“We played a complete game against Sonoma,” Wright said. “We controlled the ball well and played great defense.”

UC Davis outscored the Seawolves in every quarter, netting eight in the first quarter.

Smith and freshman Jessica Dunn both had career games, scoring six and four goals respectively. The Aggies had a total of 10 players toss up a goal.

Sunday – UC Davis 18, No. 19 Cal State East Bay 11

When looking at the final score, one wouldn’t expect the coach to describe this game as ugly.

That’s exactly how Wright described his team’s win over the Pioneers.

“It was an ugly game all around,” Wright said. “There were a lot of penalties and turnovers.”

Despite Smith breaking her nose in the game, the Aggies pulled out the hard fought win. Eleven Aggies netted a goal with Smith’s replacement, junior Michelle Hook, scoring four. Sophomore Kaylee Miller tossed up a hat trick to add to UC Davis’ total.

Sunday – No. 4 UCLA 8, UC Davis 3

Rarely does a team’s best game come in a losing effort. But according to Wright, that’s what happened.

“It was one of our most complete offensive games of the season,” Wright said. “We were very judicious with our shots and didn’t force anything.”

Wright was encouraged by how his team played against the reigning national champion.

“UCLA is one of the best teams in the nation, and we played very well against them,” he said. “It was tactically our best game of the season.”

The Aggies were unable to overcome a 3-0 Bruin first quarter lead, despite a strong second half.

Hook, sophomore Alicia Began and freshman Kathryn Bailey each tossed one through the pipes to lead UC Davis.

The Aggies head to Irvine next weekend to compete in the highly competitive UC Irvine Invitational.

JASON ALPERT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

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