Editorial: On the brink

This past three-day weekend was the biggest weekend in UC Davis athletics that didn’t happen. There were several sports with opportunities to make major headlines on a national scale.

The men’s soccer team played in arguably the biggest game of its history when it faced off with Cal State Northridge in the Big West Conference finals. On the line in the Aggies’ first league Championship match was the chance to win the season-ending conference tournament as well as the automatic entry into the NCAA tournament that came with it.

Coming off their best finish in the Big West ever, UC Davis entered the game having won eight of their last 10 games. However, the momentum did not carry them through the final game, as they were taken down by a 1-0 score in a tight battle with the Matadors.

Football almost took down the sixth-ranked team in the nation when the Aggies took on Eastern Washington. In sub-30-degree temperatures, UC Davis came one play away from making its biggest upset in its first year in the Big Sky Conference.

With 41 seconds on the clock, the Aggies had an opportunity to tie the game with a 52-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked. One field goal away.

UC Davis controlled possession, and the game easily could have gone their way.

The UC Davis women’s cross country placed sixth in the NCAA West Regional race — one of their best finishes at the event.

And for which of these sporting events should UC Davis have even been in consideration to win? Based on the Aggies’ reputation and history, probably none.

Is satisfaction with being close to beating a top team enough? No. We know that UC Davis can be one of those top teams.

That’s been the story of UC Davis athletics. They’re on the edge, pushing the envelope. Watch closely in these upcoming years, or UC Davis will become that athletic powerhouse we’ve always hoped for and you won’t even notice.