April 26, 2010

DAVIS, Calif. - Sporting a 10-5 overall record and a 3-3 conference mark, the UC Davis women's lacrosse team owns the fifth seedin the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament, hosted by Denver at Peter Barton Stadium from Thursday through Sunday. The Aggies open with fourth-seeded Oregon, which claimed the regular-season matchup in a 14-6 victory on April 18.

UC Davis is one of three teams to finish in a tie for third in the MPSF standings, joining California and UO. With the three teams holding 1-1 records against each other - the Aggies scored a 12-10 victory over the Golden Bears in the season opener - the seeding came down to combined goal differential. As a result, Cal claimed the No. 3 seed and the Ducks picked up the No. 4.

According to ninth-year Aggie head coach Elaine Jones, who is enjoying her best winning percentage since 2004, the recent loss to Oregon should serve as a motivating force heading into Thursday's quarterfinal. "I think we would have been prepared for anybody, but it helps that we just played Oregon," she said. "The game is fresh in our minds, but we also didn't play very well, so this is a chance for redemption for us."

Providing an extra boost of momentum to the season is Sunday's performance against 15th-ranked Stanford, which holds the tournament's No. 2 seed behind regular-season champ Denver. The Aggies trailed 13-5 at the halftime break, but summoned the resolve to stage a valiant comeback effort. UC Davis outscored the Cardinal by a 9-3 margin in the final 24 minutes, and scored the last five goals of the game. Senior Molly Lapolla scored two goals and all four of her assists in that stretch, while senior Britt Farquharson tallied five of her career-high six goals after the break.

"That was a huge turnaround in the second half," said Jones. "It was 30 minutes of consistent fire: a good attitude on defense, and finishing of shots on offense. If we can bring that for 60 minutes, we'll be a tough team to beat."

In some ways, Sunday's effort seemed to be par for the course in the 2010 season. The Aggies had overcome a 5-1 deficit to take a 14-13 quadruple-overtime win at Temple on March 6. They trailed 7-5 against Manhattan before dominating down the stretch in an 18-12 win two days later. Furthermore, the season-opening win over Cal and a pair of 21-goal outings provided plenty of evidence of UC Davis' offensive capabilities this year.

But to Coach Jones, it was the opponent that made the game impressive.

"Last year, Stanford beat us 20-3 and 17-3. This year, we put 14 on them," she said. "Consider that besides Denver, who beat them, the other teams in our league didn't score half that many against Stanford. Fresno State scored four. Cal lost 12-7. Oregon lost 18-7. Saint Mary's lost 21-5. Denver beat them and scored 17, but Stanford was missing its starting goalie and a couple other players. So I'm really pleased and proud of the effort against them."

As a team, UC Davis is enjoying its most prolific offensive season in school history. With 14.47 goals per game (217 in 15 contests), the Aggies are tied for seventh in Division I and on pace to break the previous mark of 14.27. Junior Gina Hoffmire paces the team with 44 goals, while Lapolla's 32 goals and 22 assists add up to a team-best 54 points. Farquharson's Sunday output moved her up to third among Aggie scorers with 29 goals. Additionally, the freshman trio of Hannah Mirza, Anna Geissbuhler and Elizabeth Datino have combined for 59 scores this year.

However, no offense can succeed without a strong defense and midfield to advance the ball to the attacking third. Fourth-year starter Molly Peterson has enjoyed a fitting final season, leading UC Davis with 24 draw controls and 26 caused turnovers to go with 34 ground balls and a career-high 19 goals on offense. Sophomore Vannessa Jamison has lived up to the promise of her strong freshman finish, tallying 33 ground balls, 20 steals and 16 draw controls.

In fact, it is that last statistical category -- often overlooked by the uninitiated observer -- that has sparked the program's best Division I season to date. The Aggies have outdrawn their opponents, 201-190, for their first favorable margin since 2005. Among the others to contribute to that total are Mirza (21), Hoffmire (20), Geissbuhler (20), junior Christina Corsa (19) and junior Alyse Lasater (14). The ability to win draws is what allows teams to pile up goals rapidly: in few other sports can a team score without surrendering the next possession.

The winner of Thursday's UC Davis-Oregon matchup will advance to Friday's semifinal against Denver. The Ducks lost their regular-season finale, 9-7, to the Pioneers on Saturday. Jana Drummond, who paces UO with 42 goals, scored a hat trick in the setback. Junior Alex Breiner is close behind with 33 goals and 12 assists. That tandem combined for eight goals in the April 18 win over the Aggies.

Denver moved up to No. 18 in the April 26 deBeer/Inside Lacrosse media poll, three spots behind Stanford, and received votes in Monday's national coaches' poll. Senior Lexi Sanders enters the weekend with 24 goals and a team-high 39 assists, while fellow fourth-year standout Ali Flury has netted a team-best 45 goals. Flury, a former MPSF Newcomer of the Year, shot 5-for-9 with five caused turnovers in her team's April 9 victory over UC Davis.

The 2010 MPSF tournament features an added level of importance: the conference has been awarded an automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament this season. The winner of Sunday's title game will face Atlantic-10 champion UMass in a play-in game for the 16-team bracket.

2010 MPSF WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
University of Denver • Peter Barton Stadium

Thursday, April 29
Game 1: No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 7 Fresno State, 1 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Saint Mary's vs. No. 3 California, 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 5 UC Davis, 6 p.m.

Friday, April 30
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 1 Denver vs. Winner Game 3, 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 2
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.

UC Davis Aggies Women's Lacrosse

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