Aggie men's soccer season ends with 1-0 loss at San Diego
Hard-fought NCAA first-round battle decided by a goal in the 36th minute
SAN DIEGO ... A long and productive season for Aggie men's soccer came to an abrupt end Thursday night when UC Davis dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to the University of San Diego in the first round of the NCAA championships.
The game was contested before an enthusiastic crowd of 1,679 at Torero Stadium.
UCD brought a six-game winning streak into the game, having closed the regular season with three straight wins to qualify for the Big West tournament, then running through three Big West opponents to take the league championship and the bid to the NCAA tournament.
UCD finished 10-6-6, while the Toreros, champions of the West Coast Conference, are now 14-2-2 as they look ahead to a second-round date against No. 10 Duke Sunday morning in Durham, North Carolina.
The game was an evenly contested battle throughout, with the difference being a long-range goal off the right foot of Cesar Bahena at the 35:54 mark of the first half.
The Aggies led in shots, 12-11, shots on goal, 3-2, and in corner kicks, 6-3.
UCD shots on goal came from Big West MVP Cason Goodman, Rafael Matiello and Zachary Neuls.
Vicente Ayala had a shot on goal for USD, along with Bahena's winning strike.
Behind WCC Goalkeeper of the Year Donovan Parisian, San Diego had allowed just 13 goals all season, and Parisian was up to the challenge once again.
The loss ends a highly successful season for UCD, which opened league play 0-2, yet rallied to win the conference championship.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
Bob, thanks for the positive spin on this post season loss. Dwayne Shaffer is a high caliber coach. He and his team are the embodiment of Aggie Pride. Go Agg’s… Rich B.
Well, shucks. There goes my hope for an Aggie-Deacs face off. Go Ags, but here's to Wake Forest.