Pacific women defeat UC Davis

October 20, 2009
Davis, Calif. - With 34 seconds left in the game, sophomore Alex Topp (San Diego, Calif.) landed the game-winning goal at UC Davis, to give Pacific the final 2-1 advantage. After an Aggie foul at the midfield line, junior Kylee Ah Choy's (Mililani, Hawaii) free kick found sophomore Angelica Figueroa (Linden, Calif.) in front of the goal, who passed to Topp under five yards to the left of the goal before the final buzzer.

With the victory, Pacific improved to 9-4-2 on the year and 3-1-0 in the Big West Conference, while the Aggies dropped to 6-7-1 overall and 1-4-0 in conference play.

Earlier in the second half, UC Davis tied up the game at 57:42 off a rainbow free kick by Aisha Lott, from 35 yards out to the left of the goal. Her free kick landed over Medigovich's head and into the top right corner of the goal to tie up the match 1-1, giving the Aggies their first goal in three games.

In the 76th minute of the game, sophomore Laura Hogan (Poway, Calif.) took a shot which was blocked by the Aggie defense from 20 yards out to the left of the goal. Two minutes later, UC Davis had a chance to capitalize on their own free-kick once more, before the Aggie bench drew a yellow card and gave the ball back to the Tigers.

Pacific looked for a go-ahead shot in the final three minutes of the game when freshman Sarah Grable (Chula Vista, Calif.) dribbled out ahead of the defense on the Tigers' half of the pitch and found sophomore Kristina Wavomba (Encinitas, Calif.) off a cross to the left of the goal that she launched wide and out of play. That was the final missed opportunity Pacific had before Topp's game-winner in the final 34 seconds.
Pacific jumped on the board early in the first half when Wavomba's third goal of the season, which came in the 13th minute, broke through an early scoreless match as Pacific jumped ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard. At 12:05, junior Sammi Teramae (Kapolei, Hawaii) dribbled the ball up the right side of the pitch to the 10 yard mark from the goal. Seeing Wavomba posted up in front of the goal, Teramae tried to tap to Wavomba, but struck a defender. Using the deflection of the Aggie defense, Wavomba corralled the ball and used her left foot to tap it into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Earlier in the first half, Teramae kick-started the Tiger offensive attack within the game's first minute, notching her first of two shots in the first stanza. From five yards out of the goal, a cross from Hogan made its way to Teramae. The junior struck the shot, which was blocked by an Aggie defender directly in front of the goal.

Following up Pacific's first shot, UC Davis's Rochelle Vanbuskirk made her own attempt in the game's third minute, when she launched a shot from 20 yards out to the left of the goal, that flew high over the crossbar and out of play.

After Pacific regained possession, Teramae again tried her luck at scoring the the sixth minute, when she flicked a header from three yards out in front of the goal off a long toss-in to the goal from freshman Lauren Olvera (Whittier, Calif.). That shot resulted in the first save by Aggie goalie Sarah Peters.

Although UC Davis scored its first goal off a free kick, the Aggies unsuccessfully tried to do so earlier in the game during the 15th minute. Katie Webb, who took the shot from 20 yards out landed the ball right in front of the right side of the Aggie goal, before junior goalie Jill Medigovich (San Diego, Calif.) dove out and stopped a goal-scoring play from happening.

UC Davis had another chance in the 34th minute off a corner kick, when Vanbuskirk went one-on-one with Ah Choy at the goal line. Before Vanbuskirk could get a shot off, junior Natalie Wong (Mililani, Hawaii) cleared the ball on to the Tigers' half of the field.

The Aggies' final two attempts at avoiding the shutout in the first half came at 41:12 and 42:36, when Marisa Boge and Rachel Kahn failed to find the back of the net.

Wavomba and Topp led the Tigers with three shots and a goal apiece. Medigovich pulled down five saves in the contest.

Pacific next returns to action when it hosts Cal Poly at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23 at Stagg Stadium.
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