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The UC Davis Aggies women’s field hockey team won 3-1 against Olympic Club in final game of spring season
The UC Davis women’s field hockey team defeated Olympic Club 3-1 in a non-conference game at home on May 12. Going into its final game of the spring season, the Aggies spotted a fall season 1-17 overall record and a 0-7 conference record.
“We have really been building our tactical awareness positionally and address[ing] team concepts that we haven’t had the chance to address in the fall,” said head coach Britt Broady. “We have changed our system a bit and they [the team] has really invested in it and built on it, so it has been all about attacking.”
In a back-and-forth first quarter of play versus Olympic Club, possession remained equal among both teams. However, it was the Aggies’ defensive line that stepped up later in the quarter, sprinting hard for the ball and coming up with key stops that kept the score tied 0-0 at the end of the first.
Coming into the second quarter, UC Davis’ offense took over the field. A collection of passes led to a wide outside shot and a goal for the Aggies at the 14-minute mark to give them the 1-0 lead. Continuing their aggressive offensive passing performance, UC Davis placed another goal in the back of the net in the 11th minute to increase its lead to 2-0. At 7:15, Olympic Club worked its way down the field and produced a shot that was blocked by a diving save from the Aggie goalie. However, Olympic Club followed through on the block and rolled one past the goalie, decreasing UC Davis’ lead to 2-1.
At 15:20 in the third quarter, the Aggies ran the ball up the side of the field and took advantage of the Olympic Club goalie rushing out of the box. A nice pass into the center of the field provided an easy open net goal for UC Davis. At the end of the third quarter, the Aggies held a 3-1 lead.
The final quarter of play was a replica of the first, with both teams constantly changing possession of the ball. Neither team could add to its score, giving UC Davis the 3-1 win.
“With the game today, we [the team] felt that we played successfully,” Broady said. “Being the final game of our spring season we have been building toward a number of attacking and defending goals, which was our focus today. We capitalized on our moments and used our training techniques in a game setting, which was delightful to see.”
Looking toward next fall season, the team recently signed eight new incoming freshman from California, Kentucky and the Netherlands. Broady hopes that these players will fit in well with the team atmosphere.
“Fortunately, we have really built a great team culture, and I think that all of these eight freshman are going to fit into it seamlessly in terms of our hard work philosophies and our team atmosphere,” Broady said. “In terms of on-field stuff, we are pretty even in terms of positions and so how they are going to fit it and who is going to be ready right away, we will see.”
The Aggies will certainly look to next season to improve from last fall season’s record as well as fall season records from 2015-16: 8-12 overall and 1-5 in conference, respectively, as well as 2016-2017: 5-13 overall and 1-5 conference.
Written by: Ryan Bugsch — sports@theaggie.org