Sports

Teams:UC Davis at UC Irvine Records:Aggies3-6 (0-0); 6-3 (0-1) Where:Anteater Stadium – Irvine,Calif. When:Today at7p.m.

It was standing room only at Aggie Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon for La Copa de Causeway, the men’s soccer version of the cross-causeway match up between UC Davis and Sacramento State. Though the temperature was over 100 degrees, the Aggie faithful came out in full force. Fortunately for those wearing blue and gold, UC Davis returned to its winning form with a 1-0 victory over the Hornets. The crowd was buzzing all game because of the emotion and physicality displayed on the pitch.

Being the Aggies are an undersized, inexperienced team, the water polo world had been questioning their ability to close out games against tough opponents. But for the second straight week, UC Davis upset the 10th-ranked team in the country. This weekend it was conference-rival Santa Clara, in front of their home crowd at Sullivan Aquatic Center. “It was one of the best feelings I have had in sports,” captain Cory Lyle said. “Their crowd was huge and after we won they were completely silenced. It was golden.”

The saying is“defense wins championships.“ Well theUC Davisdefense proved itself to be worthy as the Aggiesbeat Western Oregon29-13Saturday night to pick up their first win of the season.

It only takes one. One hook and ladder play.One Statue of Liberty play.One stunning upset of Oklahoma in the2007Fiesta Bowl in Tempe,Ariz.One game to put the Boise State football program on the college football map as a perennial Division I power.

With the message “building a champion one block at a time,” Aggie head coach Jamie Holmes is on a mission to lead UC Davis toits first Big WestConferencetitle in school history. “It’s a reminder that champions aren’t made overnight,” Holmes said. “We’re working on the process of how champions go about doing things.“

TheUC Davis cross country team has wasted no time finding success this season on both the men’s and women’s sides. The Aggies‘ first meet,the USF Invitational,resulted in sixth and third place finishes for the men and women’s teams respectively. “We split our squad and sat probably the top half on both sides,” said coach Drew Wartenburg. “That was a meet to allow some of the newcomers and a few returners to get their feet wet early.“

The UC Davis football team entered the2009-10season with a new defense and optimism about the team’s possibilities going forward. The team is still optimistic,but the Aggies‘ challenging schedule isn’t making it easy for them.

There are some of us out there that can name each of the past five World Series Most Valuable Players,their average during the series and the number of RBI they had during the four-to seven-game stretch.There are others of us who can recall how many Super Bowls the Buffalo Bills have been to and what their record is in those games (sorry,Bills fans,but you’re0-5).

If you see one of the golfers on the UC Davis team around campus and they seem relaxed or at ease at all,it’s because they haveagood reason to be. Though the Aggies have been unable to win either of their two fall tournaments,they have been hanging around at the top of leaderboard in each one.

Over the past two seasons, UC Davis men’s soccer has established itself both as a legitimate Division I program and as a national title threat. The 2009 version of the squad, however, hasn’t had as much luck as in past years to start its season. With a 26-man roster consisting of a mere nine upperclassman, a learning curve is to be expected but after two straight years of NCAA tournament appearances, a 2-5 record to start the season is difficult to get used to.

After losing all six starters,seven seniors and59percent of their goal production from last season,the Aggiesknewthey had their work cut out for them this year. Another curveballhas been thrown the Aggies‘ way asstarting hole setandoffensive weapon,Aaron Salit,decided to red shirt in2009alongwith junior Walter Eggert,the team‘s sprinterand most experienced player.