It was a tough week for UC Davis, but the Aggies can take some solace in the fact that they have shown some team growth in the early parts of 2010.
Monday – Miami (Ohio) 4, UC Davis 2
UC Davis was hoping to get off to a quick start in their second season as a program, but the Aggies fell behind early against the Redhawks on neutral ground in Berkeley, Calif.
Miami’s Jackie Nguyen scored on a penalty corner just three minutes into the match and UC Davis fell down 1-0.
Nguyen added a second goal in the seventh minute to put the Aggies down by two goals early in their season opener.
But the Aggies battled back.
UC Davis trimmed the deficit to one in the 31st minute on a goal from sophomore Nadia Namdari.
The Aggies held Miami scoreless for the remainder of the first half, and the game went to half at the score of 2-1.
UC Davis scored first in the second half when Emily Mecke found the net on a pass from Namdari in the 56th minute to tie the game at 2-2.
Miami killed the Aggies’ momentum, however, by retaking the lead less than a minute later on a goal from Kate Snyder.
Redhawk Mary Hull scored the final goal of the game and UC Davis fell to Miami by a score of 4-2.
Although her team did not get the victory, coach Vianney Campos was not disappointed with the way her team performed.
“We did the things we came out to do,” said Campos. “Being down 2-0 to a tough opponent who’s very fit was tough for us to handle previously and this year I think we adjusted a lot better.”
Friday – No. 20 Stanford 3, UC Davis 1
UC Davis fell behind early for their second straight game when they played at nationally-ranked Stanford on Friday.
The Cardinal took a lead in the 6th minute on a goal by Becky Dru.
Dru scored again for Stanford just over a minute later, and the Aggies were down 2-0.
Again, however, UC Davis pressed forward.
Aggie sophomore Lindsey Valadez scored on a penalty corner in the 23rd minute, and the game went to halftime at the score of 2-1.
Stanford scored again in the 46th minute on a goal by Emily Henricksson, and the contest ended at 3-1 in favor of the Cardinal.
There were a few bright spots for the Aggies.
UC Davis sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Sawvelle posted a career-high 17 saves in the match, and the Aggies showed significant improvement over last season’s match at Stanford when they lost 11-1.
Sunday – California 5, UC Davis 1
The Aggies fell behind in the first half again on the road against California.
Bear Andrea Earle scored in the 29th minute to give California the lead, and the score was 1-0 at half.
UC Davis sophomore Marissa Hughes scored the equalizer just two minutes into the second half, but unfortunately for UC Davis, California’s Erin Magill scored just six minutes later to retake the lead at 2-1.
The Bears proceeded to score three more goals on their way to a 5-1 defeat of the Aggies.
UC Davis will have three more road games before they open their home schedule against California on Sept. 25.
TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
