The Aggies were fighting for their lives.
UC Davis needed a win over Oregon to keep its playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately for the Aggies, their postseason dreams are over after a 19-7 loss to the Ducks.
Oregon was on the offensive from the very start, scoring at will to take an early 10-1 lead. The Aggies salvaged a few scores as the first half expired to cut the lead to seven at the break.
The Ducks continued to find the net in the second frame, however, outscoring UC Davis 9-4 and locking down the win.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t do well in many areas,” said coach Elaine Jones. “I felt that we are the better team, it just didn’t show very well. On another day I think it could have been much more of a battle, and it could have been a different outcome. It was unfortunate that we struggled.”
One of the bright spots for the Aggies was the play of freshman goalkeeper Jordan Majka, who recorded 10 saves.
Unfortunately, Majka did not have much support on the back line.
“Our defense broke down,” Jones said. “Jordan had 10 saves, which was nice, but our defense didn’t give her much help.”
The Aggies were led by senior Gina Hoffmire, who scored a hat trick and added an assist.
Sophomore Hannah Mirza found the net twice, while sophomore Anna Geissbuhler and senior Rachel Martinez rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. Senior Christina Corsa recorded an assist.
Five Ducks finished the contest with three goals.
Oregon dominated the scoring opportunities throughout the contest, outshooting the Aggies 35-22 for the game, 21-7 in the first half.
The Ducks also won the battle for possession, controlling 18 draws compared to UC Davis’ 10.
With the loss, UC Davis fell to 10-4 on the season and 2-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
The defeat also guarantees that the Aggies will finish fifth in the MPSF, and will not make the conference tournament.
Despite the slow offensive performance against Oregon, UC Davis remains the highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 16.69 goals per-game.
UC Davis will take the field for the final time this season with a home game on Wednesday against Stanford at 7 p.m.
TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
