Teams: UC Davis at Longwood
Records: Aggies, 6-9 (2-4); Lancers 6-12 (4-2)
Where: Belk Turf Field, Davidson University – Davidson, N. C.
When: Thursday at 8 a.m.
Who to watch: Sophomore Lydia Brambila will be looking to have another strong performance at the NorPac Conference Tournament.
The Falbrook, Calif. native was named to the NorPac all-tournament team last year after scoring the Aggies’ only goal in the tournament.
Brambila has two assists and 14 shots so far this season.
Did you know? This game will mark the first ever matchup between UC Davis and Longwood. After this game, the Aggies will have played every team in the NorPac Conference.
Preview: It has been a historic season for UC Davis field hockey.
The Aggies got their first two NorPac conference wins in team history this year.
This week the Aggies will set their sights on a new goal – getting the program’s first NorPac tournament victory.
Last season the Aggies dropped both of their games in the conference championships, falling to Radford and Davidson.
To turn things around this season, the Aggies will likely need to get a win against a NorPac East Division opponent.
Coach Vianney Campos is not sure what to expect from the conference’s eastern teams.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about how good the east division is this year,” she said. “Regardless, though, we all have to travel to the East Coast and show what we can do.”
UC Davis will open the tournament against one of those teams east of the Mississippi this weekend in Longwood.
The Aggies expect the game to be a solid matchup.
“They’re well coached,” Campos said. “They have a solid, disciplined team. They play the same style that we do, which should make them a good matchup for us.”
Regardless of their opponent, however, the Aggies don’t expect to be favored in any game this week, and that’s fine with them.
“We’re expecting to be the underdogs throughout the entire tournament,” Campos said. “We play really well in the underdog role. It’s the role we’ve been in all season, and hopefully we’ll be able to do well.
– Trevor Cramer
