DAVIS, Calif. The University of Denver men’s soccer team fell to No. 17 UC Davis 4-0 in the First Round of the NCAA National Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Aggie Soccer Stadium.

 

“Davis did a good job of imposing their game on us,” head coach Bobby Muuss said. “They are a lot more physical than we are. They’re bigger, stronger and more athletic. That being said, I don’t think the final score was a good reflection of the match itself.”

 

UC Davis (13-4-4) scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 25th minute. Dan Campbell took a free kick for the Aggies from 10 yards outside the box, and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Joe Willis (St. Louis, Mo.) saved the initial shot. However, the rebound deflected out to Lance Patterson, who one-timed a shot from the right side into the net.

Denver (10-7-2) trailed 1-0 heading into halftime. The Aggies extended their lead to two with a goal by Sule Anibaba in the 57th minute. Campbell sent in a long throw-in, and Anibaba buried his fifth goal of the season off a rebound.

 

“Coming out of halftime, I thought we started to do a good job soccer-wise of getting the ball on the ground and trying to play,” Muuss said. “Their second goal was a dagger.”

 

The Pioneers nearly got on the board with 38:53 remaining. Senior midfielder Joey Mathot (Port Moody, B.C.) crossed the ball in to freshman midfielder Jarod Stigall (Plano, Texas), who directed a diving header on goal, but UC Davis goalkeeper Ryan McCowan made the save.

 

Chris Leer added two goals for the Aggies in the final 25 minutes, including a bicycle kick goal in the 65th minute.

 

Junior midfielder Collin Audley (Fort Collins, Colo.) and freshman forward Sam Garza (Highland Village, Texas) each tallied two shots for DU. The Aggies outshot the Pioneers 15-9 in the match.

 

“Davis did a good job of burying the chances they had,” Muuss said. “We didn’t do a good job of getting behind the defense to create our own chances. Hats off to Davis.”

 

McCowan made three saves for the Aggies, while Willis finished with five for the Pioneers.

 

UC Davis advances to a Second Round meeting with No. 11 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

 

 

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