No. 6 Stanford thwarts Aggies' upset bid
For just the third time in program history and first since the 1993 season, UC Davis and Stanford faced on another on the soccer field when the Aggies visited Palo Alto Thursday night. In that Farm vs. Farm rivalry contest, the Aggies responded to every Cardinal challenge, created a couple opportunities of their own and needed overtime (for the third straight match) since neither team scored through regulation.
Three minutes and 45 seconds elapsed in overtime before Stanford forward Michelle Xiao punched a shot into the upper right-hand corner of UC Davis' goal to end the women's soccer's upset bid.
By escaping with a Cagan Stadium with a win, No. 6 Stanford pushed its record to 6-1. UC Davis will return to Aggie Soccer Field to open its upcoming homestand, starting with Sunday's matchup against San Diego State, with a 5-3-1 mark.
Thursday's matchup marked the third straight overtime match for the Aggies; this is the third time in school history that women's soccer competed in three straight overtime games since joining the Big West Conference in 2007.
Last season from Sept. 27-Oct. 5 when women's soccer hosted Pacific, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, all three ended in a double-OT draw.
During the 2008 season, the Aggies hosted San José State, Navy and Central Florida from Aug. 29-Sept. 7; SJSU and Central Florida ended in a tie after 110 minutes of action while only one 10-minute period was needed against Navy.
Stretching back to the 1990 season when the program competed at the Division II level, the Aggies needed overtime in back-to-back matches on nine occasions, but never competed in three straight OT events.
Freshman goalkeeper Alexis Smith collected five saves while her teammate, junior defender Rachel Smith, took a team-high two shots and recorded one shot on goal.
UC Davis will start a season-long four-match on Sunday when San Diego State visits Aggie Soccer Field for a 1 p.m. non-conference match. Live stats for this contest are available at ucdavisaggies.com.
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