Anchored by senior goalkeeper Madison Goverde (Snohomish, Wash.), the Seattle University women's soccer team shutout UC Davis, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Aggie Soccer Field. A mix of solid defense and consistent contributions from players off the bench guided the Redhawks to a perfect 2-0 record to open the 2011 campaign.

"It was a challenging game and we got off to a slow start," said head coach Julie Woodward. "We had a huge lift from players coming off the bench who helped pick up the tempo. Today's game was a great defensive performance and overall good team win. Madison was also outstanding in goal."

The Aggies opened up action with a flurry of early shots, but a pair of Goverde saves and a composed defense prevented UCD from taking an early lead.

After struggling to maintain offensive control, SU substituted freshman Megan Daniels (Mission Viejo, Calif.) into the game up top. Daniels quickly got to work and less than a minute later received a Mary Hill (Mercer Island, Wash.) corner kick. She slammed the ball towards goal, but a UC Davis defender was there to make the save. Following through on Daniels' deflected shot was sophomore midfielderKat Prati (Moorpark, Calif.), who sailed in the game-winner in the 28th minute.

In the second half, Davis worked to even the score by controlling the early minutes of play. Despite a series of Aggie shots and corner kicks, Goverde and the veteran SU backline managed to keep UCD scoreless. Goverde tallied her first clean sheet of the season behind five saves.

UC Davis (1-1) outshot Seattle U, 11-8, landing five shots on target to SU's four. The Aggies had six corner kicks, all of which came in the second half, to SU's three.

Amidst a series of 10 games on the road, the Redhawks head next to Idaho for a 4:30 p.m. match on Friday, Aug. 26. Two days later, SU will face Washington State in a 1 p.m. game in Pullman.

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