Teams: UC Davis vs. Long Beach State; vs. UC Irvine
Records: Aggies, 7-5-1 (2-1-0); 49ers, 9-5-0 (2-2-0); Anteaters 7-8-0 (3-1-0)
Where: Aggie Soccer Stadium
When: Friday at 3 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: Freshman Sienna Drizin is one of the fresh faces head coach MaryClaire Robinson has been talking about this season.
The Las Vegas, Nev. native has scored four goals for the Aggies this season including the game winner against Pacific last Friday.
Drizin and her teammates have combined for 20 goals in the first 13 games of the season.
Did you know? UC Davis has spent the last month on the road playing at away stadiums. This weekend they have a chance to earn the second — and possibly the first — rank in the Big West Conference in front of their home crowd.
Preview: First up on the agenda is the Friday match against sixth-ranked Long Beach State. The 49ers are coming off a tough 3-4 double overtime loss to Cal Poly last Sunday. UC Davis will have to start strong and play tough if they want to earn the win.
So far last year’s returners have paired well with the new additions to UC Davis’ squad.
“We’ve got a lot of fresh faces on the field this year which is refreshing,” Robinson said.
Long Beach State has a productive offense which will test the Aggie defense and new goalkeeper Taylor Jern. Jern played sharp in the goal this year which has earned her a .822 save percentage.
After the game against Long Beach, UC Davis has to face off with UC Irvine. The Anteaters are currently holding the second-place slot in conference and they are stopping in Stockton to play against Pacific before coming to Aggie Stadium.
UC Irvine has a 3-3 record on the road and the game will be a matter of offensive possession and finished opportunities.
“We’ve been doing a good job of getting people into goal-scoring opportunities and we need to continue doing that,” Robinson said.
UC Davis is focusing on the Big West Championship this year. To get there, they need to win these games this weekend and set themselves up with a higher ranking going into the playoffs.
Beating Irvine could earn them the second-place spot but the Aggies will remain behind frontrunner Cal Poly unless another conference rival is able to blemish their perfect 1-0 conference record.
— Kim Carr
