Men’s Soccer Preview

When:  Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Who to watch: Junior Alex Aguiar has been one of the Aggies’ most dangerous assets this year. He has been involved in five goals this season, including three of his own and two assists.

The last time the Aggies faced off with Cal State Fullerton, Aguiar put away a penalty kick for one of the two goals UC Davis scored to take down the Titans.

Aguiar has started all 19 games for UC Davis and has fired the most shots (35) and shots on goal (16) this season.

Did you know: The Aggies are a testament to the statement “defense wins ballgames.”

UC Davis ranked last in the conference in goals, assists and points. In the Aggies’ last nine games, they won seven contests due mostly in part to the fact that they allowed one goal or less in each game over this stretch.

UC Davis scored 13 of its 21 goals this season after the first half, and over the span of its six most recent wins, the goal that won it for the Aggies came after halftime.
Preview: The UC Davis men’s soccer team has never won a game at the Big West Conference tournament. Last year, it scraped out a third-place finish in the league standings but was defeated by UC Santa Barbara at the Gauchos’ field in the first round.

The Aggies have made the tournament twice in their time in the Big West, in 2008 and last season.

If there was a year that UC Davis was to make a push far into the conference tournament, it has a better chance this year than those opportunities in the past.

The Aggies peaked at just the right time to win seven of their last nine games at the end of the season and grab the first-place title in the Big West Conference North Division.

With this top finish, UC Davis earned the opportunity to host the first round of the conference tournament. Venturing onto Aggie territory will be CSU Fullerton.

The Titans were defeated by UC Davis earlier this season by a score of 2-1, with both Aguiar and junior Alex Henry putting in goals. CSU Fullerton was second place in the Big West South Division with a 4-5-1 conference record and 8-11-1 overall.

Recently, UC Davis took down Sacramento State to shake up the Big West standings. The Aggies held onto their first-place position with the victory.

The Hornets were tied for second entering the game, but with the Cal Poly victory over UC Santa Barbara and the Aggies’ win, the Mustangs closed the season in second place in the North Division.

The other semifinal match-up features Cal State Northridge hosting Cal Poly. The winners will face off with each other on Saturday.

Recently, the Aggies had three players pick up All-Big West honors. Juniors Kevin Schulte and Omar Zeenni were awarded All-Big West Conference second-team titles, while junior Alex Henry was given an honorable mention.

Kickoff is at 2 p.m. and costs five dollars for student admission and $10 for general admission.