A mix of wins and losses for the Aggies
By DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI — sports@theaggie.org
While most of the student population may not have been in Davis for the summer, the UC Davis women’s soccer team was here, with plenty of supporters.
The women’s soccer team started their season with a non-conference opener at the Aggie Soccer field here in Davis, against Fresno State University on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. In addition to being the opener for the Aggies’ season, it was also the debut of Head Coach Kat Mertz.
Despite the opener ending in a tie, it was a strong start to the season, especially under a new coach. The game demonstrated the motivation of the women’s soccer team for the upcoming season, as the team made plenty of attacks and total shots taken.
UC Davis bounced back from the tie three days later with their game against the University of the Pacific, having won the match 2-1.
This game also highlighted Sarah Canavan, a fifth-year communication major, as she assisted both goals scored throughout the game. She demonstrated strong playmaking and teamwork to help the team secure a win.
After the win against Pacific, the Aggies welcomed San Jose State University (SJSU) to the Aggie Soccer Field on Aug. 21. Although UC Davis lost with a score of 1-2, there were still 12 shots on goal, with six coming from corner kicks.
UC Davis was extremely competitive against SJSU; However, they conceded in the closing minutes of the match, a painful repeat of some of their past late-game struggles.
UC Davis’ game at Lamar University on Aug. 28 was a defensive struggle overall. Each team had several chances to score, but neither team could capitalize on them. UC Davis had plenty of offensive threats coming from various players, but there were only three Aggies who had chances to take shots.
The fifth game of the summer was on the road as well, at Louisiana State University (LSU) on Aug. 31, which had a strong start with the Aggies in the lead within the first half, having scored twice by the 35th minute and only allowing LSU to score one goal.
Unfortunately, UC Davis lost the lead in the second half, as LSU went on the attack and turned the game quickly. LSU scored two goals in quick succession to take the score to 3-2.
Cat Pieper, a fourth-year political science major, had six saves as the goalkeeper, despite being under constant pressure in the second half.
While UC Davis secured a lead in both games early on and into halftime, they failed to maintain the momentum from the first half, which was worsened by LSU’s second-half surge.
The Aggies then welcomed Saint Mary’s on Sept. 4, presenting a strong challenge for the Saint Mary’s players. Unfortunately, Saint Mary’s defense limited the shots the Aggies were able to take — only four total.
UC Davis’ defense, on the other hand, held up as best they could, only allowing Saint Mary’s to score one goal.
The Aggies then traveled to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) on Sept. 11, after a week-long break. LMU pressed heavily during the first half, forcing goalkeeper Pieper into action, stopping all shots on the goal.
UC Davis then pressed in the second half, taking 20 shots in total; Unfortunately, they could not score on LMU. Defense and offense for UC Davis showed resilience against LMU, highlighting issues that caused losses earlier this season.
UC Davis then hosted Montana State University on Sept. 14, controlling the ball for most of the game but failing to pull through to score. The Aggies took 17 shots against Montana, while Montana only took eight and scored a goal.
With this match being their second 1-0 loss in just over a week, it does raise some concerns about the strength of offensive conversion — something for UC Davis to focus on for their upcoming season.
Written by: Danielle Wirnowski — sports@theaggie.org
