Teams: UC Davis vs. No. 7 Stanford
Records: Aggies 10-4 (2-3); Cardinal 13-1 (5-0)
Where: Aggie Stadium
When: Today at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior Rachael Martinez will be looking to finish her UC Davis career on a high note today.
While Martinez has scored just three goals this season, she has been a key component for the Aggies on both the offensive and defensive end.
Martinez scored a goal on her only shot and posted one ground ball in UC Davis’ most recent game against Oregon.
Did you know? While this contest will be the final game for all of UC Davis’ seniors, it will not be the team’s Senior Day.
The Aggies held Senior Day on April 10. The match resulted in a 15-14 overtime loss to Denver.
Preview: The Aggies may have been eliminated from the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean they’re done fighting.
“The main focus is to finish strong,” said coach Elaine Jones. “It’s the same things we’ve done all year – passing, catching and fundamentals. We know what we have to do.”
UC Davis may be prepared to put its full effort into this contest, but they face no easy task as they go up against the nationally ranked Cardinal.
Stanford has lost just one game this season and is 9-0 in games played on the west coast.
If the Aggies want to win, they will need to bring a better effort than they showed in Sunday’s loss to Oregon.
“We need to show up,” Jones said. “If we don’t come prepared and on the same page, we can expect a similar result to the one in Oregon.”
Last season UC Davis was able to stay in the game against Stanford, losing by just three on the road.
Jones, however, does not believe that last season’s result has any bearing on this season’s match.
“That was a different group,” she said. “You can’t compare last year to this year.”
Regardless of the result, UC Davis will say goodbye to a strong senior class.
“They’ve been the most committed senior class,” Jones said. “All six of them have worked hard all year. It would be nice to send them off on a high note.”
– Trevor Cramer
