Event: UC Davis at Cal State Northridge, UC Davis at No. 23 UC Irvine
Teams: Aggies 5-3-1, Matadors 5-5, Anteaters 8-1-2
Where: Matador Soccer Field, Northridge, Calif.; Anteater Stadium, Irvine Calif.
When: Friday at 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: In the 3-0 rout of the Grizzlies last weekend, Montana utilized a strategy in which UC Davis was frequently outnumbered in the midfield.
“We were outnumbered in the midfield,” said women’s coach Maryclaire Robinson. “But the work rate always trumps system.”
Part of the energy, work ethic and vocal leadership came from Elise Winbrock.
“Elise Winbrock did a fantastic in the midfield,” Robinson said. “She’s such a communicator that when she’s out there, everybody understands what’s going on and who’s going where.”
The junior and native of Davis has scored only one goal in her collegiate career, but she is instrumental to the success of the offense and the play of the Aggies as they enter the conference portion of their season.
Did you know? When Robinson said her team was on the losing end of a lot of tough games last season, she included the Aggies’ last game against the Matadors, where UC Davis lost in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss.
Preview: Some migratory animals head south for the winter. Some Aggies travel south for soccer.
The UC Davis women’s soccer team will be heading down to southern California to take on conference opponents Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine this weekend.
After this past weekend’s matches, the Aggies look ready to start the conference portion of their season. Friday, UC Davis engaged in a struggle of will and endurance against the University of San Francisco.
“The last 15 minutes were all about grit and battling,” Robinson said. “Last year, we struggled with [finishing games]. I think this year we’ve tried to address that.”
Against Montana, the Aggies put emphasis on the levels of energy and hustle.
“We wanted to keep an up tempo pace,” said Robinson. “That’s going to prepare us most for conference.”
UC Davis has a chance to start off their conference portion with a bang by avenging an overtime loss to the Matadors and making a statement to No. 23 UC Irvine.
The Anteaters are coming off of a productive weekend where they won the Anteater Invitational by beating Nevada and shutting out the No. 17 Oregon State Beavers – the same team that beat the Aggies by a score of 1-0.
– Matt Wang
