50.9 F
Davis

Davis, California

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Women’s field hockey preview

Teams: UC Davis vs. Davidson; vs. TBA

Records: Aggies, 4-11 (2-4); Wildcats, 10-7 (4-2)

Where: Varsity Turf Field — Stanford, Calif.

When:  Today at 11 a.m.; TBA

Who to watch: Junior Casey Wollbrinck had a strong offensive game in Saturday’s win against Pacific, scoring in the first two minutes of play to set the tone of the match.

Coach Viannay Campos believes that Wollbrinck is “mentally ready to lead the team” to additional success in the tournament.

Did you know? Junior Lydia Brambila’s first career goal was scored against Davidson in the 2009 NorPac tournament.

Preview: It all comes down to this.
Today third seed UC Davis will play Davidson in the first game of the NorPac Conference tournament.

The Wildcats are the number two seed in the eastern division.

The last time that the Aggies faced off against Davidson was in 2009. The match took place in the second round of the NorPac tournament and UC Davis was handed a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat in overtime.

But the Aggies’ chances for redemption have never looked better. Coming off of the momentum from solid games against California and Stanford, and Saturday’s win over Pacific, UC Davis will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming matches.

“I think we’re ready,” Campos said. “If we use our strengths — our speed and passing — and read the other teams’ strengths early on, there’s no reason we should be beat.”

The Aggies’ greatest challenge today could prove to be slowing down the Wildcats’ Finley Amato, the eastern division’s Offensive Player of the Week, who recorded a hat trick in their recent match against Appalachian State.

But if UC Davis is able to continue the momentum that they have built coming into Thursday’s game, they will have a competitive edge in the match. And that is just what they intend to do.

“We’re going to play the game like it’s our last game. We have nothing to lose,” Campos said. “We haven’t had the season we wanted in terms of record … [but] this is what counts.”

The tournament is a double elimination bracket in which three rounds of play will occur. If the Aggies’ are able to secure the win they have been working toward, their next game will be against the winner of the match between No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 Appalachian State.

NorPac tournament play will continue through Saturday’s championship game at 1:30 p.m.

— Kaitlyn Zufall

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