It was a daunting task.
Four road games in six days on the east coast meant the Aggies would need to maintain their stamina if they wished to have success.
They did just that.
UC Davis won three of the four contests, moving to 9-2 on the season.
The Aggies’ hot shooting on the trip helped the team maintain the title of highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 18.14 goals per match.
Tuesday – UC Davis 19, Wagner 4
The Aggies started fast as they opened the week in Staten Island, N.Y.
UC Davis scored the first six goals of the contest, and headed into the break with an 11-2 lead.
The Aggies didn’t let up in the second frame, as they defeated the Seahawks 19-4.
Senior Christina Corsa led the game with five goals and three assists.
Fellow senior Gina Hoffmire added four goals and one assist, as UC Davis out shot Wagner 35-11.
Wednesday – UC Davis 9, Iona 5
UC Davis faced much more of a defensive struggle when they played Iona.
The offenses struggled to heat up in the snowy weather, and the Aggies entered the break leading 5-2.
The second half yielded more of the same, as both teams presented strong defensive efforts.
Ultimately the Aggies held off the Gaels, winning by four.
Despite getting the victory, coach Elaine Jones felt her team could have played better.
“I think the weather played into our minds a little,” Jones said. “I don’t think we were as crisp as we could have been. Sometimes the wins aren’t pretty, but they are wins.”
Sophomore Elizabeth Datino paced the Aggies, scoring three goals. Corsa, Hoffmire and sophomore Hannah Mirza added two each to round out the scoring for UC Davis.
Saturday – Fairfield 13, UC Davis 5
The lone hiccup for the Aggies came in their game with Fairfield.
UC Davis struggled to find the net in the first half, scoring just once when Mirza found the net less than 10 minutes into the game.
The Aggies entered halftime trailing by five.
UC Davis’ cold shooting continued in the second frame, as it found the net just four times, and was stuck with a 13-5 loss. The defeat ended an eight-game win streak for the Aggies.
It was far from the level of play UC Davis is capable of.
“Fairfield brought its A-game and we brought our H-game, with H standing for horrible,” Jones said. “We really weren’t that good. We were just flat. We definitely didn’t show what we’re capable of doing.”
Hoffmire scored twice, while Corsa, Mirza and senior Laura Martin added one each.
Sunday – UC Davis 22, Long Island 11
While the Aggies may have struggled to score on Saturday, they exploded offensively on Sunday.
UC Davis tallied 22 goals on 38 shots to blow past Long Island and finish the road-trip on a high note.
This total marked the most goals the Aggies have ever scored against a Division I opponent.
Hoffmire and Mirza paced UC Davis with six goals apiece.
With her scoring tally, Hoffmire moved up to an average of 3.86 goals per-game, good for fifth nationally.
While UC Davis has won nine of its last 10 games, Jones still believes the team has room to grow.
“For better or for worse I always have higher expectations of what we should be doing,” Jones said. “[This week] was a good learning experience. We’ll be able to prepare for our conference schedule knowing some things we need to work on.”
TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
