Oct. 29, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

COMING UP NEXT: The UC Davis men's soccer team hosts Cal Poly Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Aggie Soccer Stadium in the final home match of the 2009 season... Seniors Paul Marcoux, Chris Leer and Juan Hernandez will be recognized pre-game Saturday.

LIVE COVERAGE: Gametracker will be available for Saturday's match against Cal Poly via the UC Davis Official Athletics Website at www.ucdavisaggies.com.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly is currentlly tied for first place in the Big West Conference with an overall record of 7-8-1 and a 5-2-0 league record... Junior forward David Zamora was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week after recording a hat trick against Cal State Northridge Oct. 24... The Mustangs faced UC Riverside Wednesday and picked up a 3-0 win... Junior goalkeeper Patrick McLain matched a career high with seven saves against the Highlanders and had his fourth shutout of the season... Chris Gaschen leads the team with four assists... The Aggies faced the Mustangs in the opening weekend of Big West play and fell 1-0 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium Oct. 4.

ALL-TIME AGAINST CAL POLY: UC Davis now stands at 4-6-0 against Cal Poly since the 2004 season.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH SHAFFER: "I feel the biggest thing that we've done is that we've settled in on a system of play and I certainly think that that's helped us. We've been much more competitive and organized and disciplined in our past five or six games. Some results have gone our way and some haven't, but that's the biggest adjustment. Also our freshmen who have played a tremendous amount of minutes - more than most freshmen play - are now experienced players and are settling in to and acclimating to life as a college soccer player and a student at UC Davis which I believe has helped us with our overall depth. So i think all of that is a little bit different from the last time we played Cal Poly."

SENIOR DAY SALUTE: UC Davis will recognize Juan Hernandez, Chris Leer and Paul Marcoux before the game Saturday:
Juan Hernandez started his Aggie career as the only freshman to start all 19 games in 2005... Suffered a season-ending injury in 2006... Returned in 2007 to score the game winning goal against 19th-ranked Cal Poly Nov. 10... Named Big West Conference Player of the Week and was selected to the Soccer America National Team of the Week for the goal... Redshirted in 2008... Has appeared in 13 games in 2009, scoring the game winner earlier this season against Central Arkansas.
- COACH SHAFFER ON HERNANDEZ: "Juan Hernandez has been a pleasure to coach. He's a young man who comes to practice everyday, who works hard, and who always has a positive attitude. He played a lot as a true freshman and ever since he tore his ACL halfway through his sophomore year he's struggled with injuries. Overall, Juan has been a great individual to have on our team."

Chris Leer was the only true freshman of the 2006 squad to see action and appeared in 16 games... Finished his debut season with two assists... As a sophomore in 2007, Leer competed in 19 games and scored five goals... His breakout year came in 2008 with four goals, including the bicycle-kick goal against Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament... He was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his performance against Denver... Went on to score the team's only goal against Michigan in the second round of the tournament... Has scored twice in 2009 and leads the team in assists with four, including the game winning assist against Sacramento State Sept. 27.
- COACH SHAFFER ON LEER: "Chris Leer has had a great career at UC Davis and he has blossomed the last couple years as an attacking player. He was a reserve behind Quincy Amarikwa but when he did come in the game he always gave us a spark and this year he's done a great job. Chris is going to be sorely missed just with his athleticism and his desire."

Paul Marcoux redshirted his freshman season before becoming a key member of the Aggie offense... In 2006, Marcoux played in all 18 games and finished second on the team with six goals... As a junior in 2007, he was named Big West Player of the Week for assisting on both goals in a 2-1 win against UC Irvine... Last year, Marcoux was named an All-Big West Conference honorable mention after starting all 22 games and finishing with two goals and four assists... Marcoux is the only Aggie to have scored multiple goals in a game in 2009 and scored the gamewinner against then-No. 23 UC Irvine in the second overtime period Sept. 30... He leads the team with five goals.
- COACH SHAFFER ON MARCOUX: "Paul Marcoux has been outstanding throughout his career. When Paul came into our program, I saw a lot of talent and athleticism. Through hard work throughout his career in the weight room and training hard he's been a great addition to this program. He and Chris [Leer] have both played in three NCAA playoff games, helped us qualify for the Big West Championship and helped us with our transtition from Division II to Division I so I think Paul has had an outstanding career and one that he should be proud of."