Teams: UC Davis at St. Mary’s; vs. Oregon
Records: Aggies, 8-3 (2-1); Gaels, 4-8 (1-3); Ducks, 6-8 (2-1)
Where: Saint Mary’s Stadium – Moraga, Calif.; Aggie Stadium
When: Today at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior Molly Peterson has been a constant force for UC Davis over the past four seasons.
The Lafayette, Calif. native enters her final home game of her career on a hot streak as the defender scored four of the Aggies’ seven goals in their 17-7 loss to Denver.
Did you know: Despite both being members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, UC Davis’ match against St. Mary’s today will not count toward either teams MPSF record.
Due to the small size of the MPSF, only the first contest between the teams will be counted to their conference record. The Aggies defeated the Gaels on Feb. 27, 21-11 to earn the conference victory.
Preview: For three Aggies, Sunday’s match against Oregon will be more than a normal game.
Seniors Molly Lapolla, Britt Farquharson and Peterson will each be playing their final game at Aggie Stadium on Sunday.
All three have left their mark on Aggie lacrosse.
Farquharson transferred to UC Davis in 2008, but has made a big impact in her short time. The midfielder led the Aggies in goals, shots and shooting percentage during the 2009 campaign.
Lapolla has been an offensive force over her four years at UC Davis, accumulating 72 goals to date.
Peterson will be remembered for her defense as she has caused 80 turnovers over her career.
“All four have shown tremendous growth over their time here,” said coach Elaine Jones. They’ve been a good influence on the younger players and that’s something that we can benefit from even after they’re gone.”
Not only is the contest important for the three seniors, it’s also crucial for the Aggies’ MPSF record. UC Davis currently sits in a three-way tie for second place in the conference with Oregon and Stanford. Therefore, this game will be critical for the Aggies’ seed in the upcoming MPSF tournament.
“This is a must-win game for us,” Jones said. “Oregon is an aggressive team, so we’re going to have to play our best to beat them.”
– Jason Alpert
