UC Davis Soccer - Aggies Advance With 4-0 Win Over Denver


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UC Davis Soccer Coverage Aggies Advance With 4-0 Win Over Denver By: Patrick Crawley UC Davis Beats Denver 4-0 in NCAA Tournament It's official. The UC Davis men's soccer team has its swagger back. Following a rough, three week stretch of goal-less soccer the Aggies exploded in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, beating visiting Denver 4-0 in front of a sell-out home crowd at Aggie Soccer Stadium. It was the first postseason victory for the men's soccer program; which is fitting because the win came in UC Davis' first home playoff game. Junior striker Chris Leer led the way for UC Davis, scoring two second half goals. Freshman defender Lance Patterson and senior midfielder Sule Anibaba also contributed goals for the Aggies. From the beginning, it was a strong showing for the Aggies. The pacing up front was crisp, the passes in the midfield connecting on a regular basis. Midfielders Anibaba and Dylan Curtis, the Big West Midfielder of the Year, set the pace early with hard tackles and excellent vision while front man Quincy Amarikwa pestered the Denver defense with crafty runs. After knocking on the door for what seemed like an eternity, the Aggies opened scoring in the 25th minute as Patterson punched home a weakside deflection off of Denver goalkeeper Joe Willis. It was brilliant placement on the part of the freshman defender, who found his way to the backdoor after Dan Campbell placed a direct kick on-frame. For his effort Patterson was rewarded with the first goal of his young collegiate career. The score sent UC Davis' capacity crowd of 1,344 into a frenzy. Homemade flags waved high and scarves were tossed throughout the bleachers as the cheers reverberated off of nearby buildings. The crowd would have to wait until the second half to celebrate again. Twenty minutes of scoreless, physical play led into halftime. The second half opened with a number of well-executed attempts on goal for the Pioneers. The closest of which was a diving header inside the box by Jarod Stigall. UC Davis goalkeeper Ryan McCowan snuffed out any possibility of a Denver goal, though. Senior captain Sule Anibaba extended the Aggie lead in the 57th minute with a near-post finish. After a long throw-in from Campbell, the ball bounced around the Pioneers defense before finding its way to Anibaba in the box. Anibaba finished with a sliding drive past Willis, making the score 2-0 in favor of UC Davis. Junior Chris Leer added to the lead in the 65th minute with the most impressive play of the game. Receiving an entry pass from junior Paul Marcoux with his back to the goal, Leer flicked the ball into the air and volleyed a sailing shot over defender Kris Banghart's shoulder and into the waiting net. Frozen in place on the near side, Willis could muster only a symbolic half-dive in pursuit of the shot. It was an amazing goal that kicked off another round of frenzied cheering from the Aggie fan base. The final goal came with just under six minutes left in the game. Leer made a run between two Denver defenders and Aggie midfielder Rene Cuellar found him with a perfect through ball. The disheartened defensemen couldn't catch Leer, who finished with a grass-cutter to the far post. With his second finish of the day, Leer made himself a clear choice for Man of the Match. The Aggies also received strong play from Anibaba, Curtis, Amarikwa, McCowan, Campbell, Marcoux and senior defender Jordan Vanderpoorten, who saved the Aggies numerous times on crosses into the box. UC Davis advances to face Michigan in a second-round game in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. Kickoff will be at 11:00 a.m. PT. The 4-0 finish by UC Davis was the largest margin of victory of any of the games in the opening round. Jacksonville also produced four goals, but they conceded three goals in a win over Louisville. In other Big West soccer news, Cal Poly beat UCLA 1-0 to advance to the second round; keeping the number of Big West teams alive in the tournament at four. The Mustangs will play UC Irvine in the second round. UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara earned first round byes thanks to strong play at the end of the season. UC Santa Barbara will match up against Cal in the second round. Cal advances with a 3-0 win over San Francisco. Now that you've read this article, see what others have to say about it on the Davis Sports Deli message boards. For more UC Davis coverage, check out our Archives.

UC Davis Beats Denver 4-0 in NCAA Tournament

It's official. The UC Davis men's soccer team has its swagger back.

Following a rough, three week stretch of goal-less soccer the Aggies exploded in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, beating visiting Denver 4-0 in front of a sell-out home crowd at Aggie Soccer Stadium. It was the first postseason victory for the men's soccer program; which is fitting because the win came in UC Davis' first home playoff game.

Junior striker Chris Leer led the way for UC Davis, scoring two second half goals. Freshman defender Lance Patterson and senior midfielder Sule Anibaba also contributed goals for the Aggies.

From the beginning, it was a strong showing for the Aggies. The pacing up front was crisp, the passes in the midfield connecting on a regular basis. Midfielders Anibaba and Dylan Curtis, the Big West Midfielder of the Year, set the pace early with hard tackles and excellent vision while front man Quincy Amarikwa pestered the Denver defense with crafty runs.

After knocking on the door for what seemed like an eternity, the Aggies opened scoring in the 25th minute as Patterson punched home a weakside deflection off of Denver goalkeeper Joe Willis. It was brilliant placement on the part of the freshman defender, who found his way to the backdoor after Dan Campbell placed a direct kick on-frame. For his effort Patterson was rewarded with the first goal of his young collegiate career.

The score sent UC Davis' capacity crowd of 1,344 into a frenzy. Homemade flags waved high and scarves were tossed throughout the bleachers as the cheers reverberated off of nearby buildings.

The crowd would have to wait until the second half to celebrate again. Twenty minutes of scoreless, physical play led into halftime.

The second half opened with a number of well-executed attempts on goal for the Pioneers. The closest of which was a diving header inside the box by Jarod Stigall. UC Davis goalkeeper Ryan McCowan snuffed out any possibility of a Denver goal, though.

Senior captain Sule Anibaba extended the Aggie lead in the 57th minute with a near-post finish. After a long throw-in from Campbell, the ball bounced around the Pioneers defense before finding its way to Anibaba in the box. Anibaba finished with a sliding drive past Willis, making the score 2-0 in favor of UC Davis.

Junior Chris Leer added to the lead in the 65th minute with the most impressive play of the game.

Receiving an entry pass from junior Paul Marcoux with his back to the goal, Leer flicked the ball into the air and volleyed a sailing shot over defender Kris Banghart's shoulder and into the waiting net. Frozen in place on the near side, Willis could muster only a symbolic half-dive in pursuit of the shot.

It was an amazing goal that kicked off another round of frenzied cheering from the Aggie fan base.

The final goal came with just under six minutes left in the game. Leer made a run between two Denver defenders and Aggie midfielder Rene Cuellar found him with a perfect through ball. The disheartened defensemen couldn't catch Leer, who finished with a grass-cutter to the far post.

With his second finish of the day, Leer made himself a clear choice for Man of the Match.

The Aggies also received strong play from Anibaba, Curtis, Amarikwa, McCowan, Campbell, Marcoux and senior defender Jordan Vanderpoorten, who saved the Aggies numerous times on crosses into the box.

UC Davis advances to face Michigan in a second-round game in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. Kickoff will be at 11:00 a.m. PT.

The 4-0 finish by UC Davis was the largest margin of victory of any of the games in the opening round. Jacksonville also produced four goals, but they conceded three goals in a win over Louisville.

In other Big West soccer news, Cal Poly beat UCLA 1-0 to advance to the second round; keeping the number of Big West teams alive in the tournament at four. The Mustangs will play UC Irvine in the second round. UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara earned first round byes thanks to strong play at the end of the season. UC Santa Barbara will match up against Cal in the second round. Cal advances with a 3-0 win over San Francisco.

Now that you've read this article, see what others have to say about it on the Davis Sports Deli message boards.

For more UC Davis coverage, check out our Archives.