FULLERTON, Calif. – UC Davis will be playing for its first Big West Conference Championship since 2019 after its 2-1 victory over top-seeded Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night.
It was a fairly even contest that saw the Titans hold a narrow advantage in the shots column, 19-14.
Scott Buie provided the opening goal with his excellent finish in the early minutes of the second half and
Cason Goodman delivered the winning moment in extra time to send the Aggies to the final.
After some well-orchestrated pressing from
Dwayne Shaffer's side,
Lucas Fernandez-Kim made the vital interception high up the pitch to start the attacking move. The midfielder played the ball into
Ryan Dieter on the edge of the box before the Santa Rosa native slipped a short pass into a striding Buie, who smashed his chance into the back of the net to put his team out in front. This was Buie's first collegiate goal.
The hosts were on the front foot in the first half and enjoyed majority of the possession and scoring chances, but UC Davis grew in confidence during the second 45 minutes and started to shine as the better side.
The Aggies were 17 seconds from the final but Cal State Fullerton broke their hearts with Jorge Quintero's headed goal to send the match to extra time.
However, UC Davis responded to the adversity when
Cason Goodman scored in the first extra time period to restore the Aggies' lead. His brother playing in the defense,
Luke Goodman, launched a beautiful long ball in behind the Fullerton defense and C. Goodman would run onto it before taking a touch and slotting his chance home to make the score 2-1.
The Titans nearly equalized on multiple occasions in the second half but
Charles Janssen came up with multiple timely saves to help get UC Davis across the finish line.
Goals
81' – UC Davis (Buie)
90' – Cal State Fullerton (Quintero)
96' – UC Davis (C. Goodman)
Up Next
The Ags will head to the Big West Championship on Nov. 11 at UC Irvine, looking to earn their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
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