UC Davis is glad to be home.
The Aggies went 2-1 at the Aggie Shootout in their first three home contests of the year.
“We did pretty well over the weekend,” freshman Jessica Dunn said. “We made a couple mistakes here and there, especially against Stanford, but it was still a good tournament.”
UC Davis (9-10) had 12 different scorers over the weekend. Sophomore Kaylee Miller led the attack with four.
Saturday – No. 15 UC Davis 15, Sonoma State 1
For the second time this season, UC Davis beat Sonoma State, and again it was in a big way.
After falling behind early in the game, UC Davis scored 15 unanswered goals en route to the big win.
Eleven different Aggies scored, with Miller and freshmen Carly Ternasky, Alex Rawlinson and Kathryn Bailey each scoring two.
“Watching all the different players score was great to see,” coach Jamey Wright said. “We have a whole team of good players, so you’re never disappointed about which combination of them is in the pool.”
Wright said it’s a great problem for a coach to have a team full of good players and to try and decide playing time for the girls.
Saturday – UC Davis 12, Cal State Bakersfield 5
The Aggies have the Roadrunners’ number.
In the two matchups this season, UC Davis has outscored Cal State Bakersfield by a combined total of 18 goals.
“Bakersfield is a pretty good team,” Wright said. “To beat them big twice in the season is pretty impressive.”
Entering halftime, the score was only 5-3 in the Aggies’ favor. A big second half sealed the deal for UC Davis.
Sophomore Christina Miyabe led the Aggies with three goals. Senior Casey Hines had seven saves in goal.
“Casey played great,” Wright said. “Her play in goal allowed us to get into our transition game easier and get some counter-attack goals.”
Sunday – No. 2 Stanford 11, UC Davis 1
In the final game of the weekend, the Aggies matched up against one of the top teams in the nation.
Senior Dana Nelson scored the only Aggie goal at the 6:23 mark in the first quarter. By the end of the period, the Cardinal had a 4-1 lead.
In the second quarter, the Aggies held Stanford to only one goal, something that Wright was happy to see.
“We played really well in the second,” Wright said. “We had decent ball control so they couldn’t get their counter-attack on.”
The Cardinal sealed the victory in the second half by holding the Aggies scoreless.
Hines performed well between the pipes with eight saves but the Aggies made a few too many miscues and Stanford took advantage.
“You make a couple mistakes against a team like that and they’ll get their counter-attack going and score a bunch,” Hines said.
Despite the lopsided score, the team feels they can learn from the loss.
“We made our mistakes and we’ll learn from it,” Wright said. “The reality of it is that if you don’t learn from it or grow from it, then it’s a waste of time.”
The Aggies return to action on Mar. 15 in a doubleheader against Harvard and Fresno Pacific.
JASON ALPERT can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
