Teams: UC Davis vs. St. Mary’s
Records: Aggies, 1-0 (1-0); Gaels, 1-2 (0-1)
Where: Aggie Stadium
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: Junior Christina Corsa could not have started the season off better.
The Danville, Calif. native had three assists and a goal for a team-high four points in the Aggies’ 12-10 victory over California, the first win over the Golden Bears since 2001. Her performance earned her the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week honor.
Did you know? UC Davis went 2-0 against St. Mary’s last season. The Aggies won the first matchup at home on Feb. 16, by a 16-13 score. They then beat the Gaels again at St. Mary’s 14-13 on Feb. 22.
Preview: The Aggies are in a different position.
For the first time since 2006, UC Davis (1-0 MPSF) has started off the season with a win. The Aggies upset MPSF rival Cal 12-10 last Saturday for the first time under coach Elaine Jones’ tenure. Even with the win, the Aggies are staying levelheaded.
“I think we’ll stay modest about our playing ability after the win,” Jones said. “The worst thing we could do is to become complacent with where we are.”
Jones said the Aggies will continue to work hard at practice to prove that the early season upset wasn’t a fluke.
“We still have to work on our shooting, possession and making smarter choices with the ball,” Jones said. “We can never be satisfied with where we are.”
While Jones wants to make sure the Aggies don’t get overconfident after the win, she still wants her team to keep a positive attitude.
“We have to take it one game at a time and build off the win,” Jones said. “Winning is infectious – as long as we do the little things, we can be successful.”
According to Jones, the key to continued success is a strong defense. Sophomore Vannessa Jamison and senior Molly Peterson will be the centerpieces of the Aggie defense. Jamison had two steals in the win over Cal.
Jones was proud of the contribution from the entire team in the season-opening win, something she wants to continue throughout the year.
“We had everyone contribute in the win,” she said. “If we get a lot of different scorers, we can be successful.”
– Jason Alpert
