University of San Francisco Athletics

Box Score
 
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SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons dominated most of the match, putting up 17 shots, against highly-touted UC Davis on Friday night but were unable to find the goal as they forced a 0-0 tie at Negoesco Stadium.
 
"We knew what Davis was about and their approach to the game and in the beginning our guys had a tough time with it," San Francisco head coach Eddie Soto said. "Once we settled things down, we took over the game. From that point on, we kept building confidence.
 
"We created a lot of chances through our build-up play. We just weren't sharp in front of the goal."
 
The Dons (4-2-1) have faced one of the tougher preseason schedules, including two Top 25 teams, and the match against UC Davis (2-0-6) was not different with the Aggies coming in undefeated and having been ranked 28th in the most recent Top Drawer Soccer poll.
 
"The fact that we got a result against a ranked team is good but I love the fact that the guys feel like they lost because they were by far the better team," Soto said.
 
After a strong first half, the Dons were back at it in the second and had a golden opportunity when Davi Ramos took a pass in the left flat and had a UC Davis defender fall down, giving him a clear look at the goal but his kick went into the arms of UC Davis goalkeeper Armando Quezada.
 
In the 60th minute, Miguel Aguilar raced down the left side of the field, cut to the middle about 20 yards from the goal and delivered the ball on the ground to Sixto Porras but he was called offsides.
 
Late in the second half, David Garrett had a lane at the top of the box but it was quickly closed by the Aggie defense and his shot was blocked. Only seconds later, Manny Padilla took a cross and headed it towards the goal but his attempt went high.
 
The Dons took 17 shots and had 10 corner kicks in the match.
 
"We keep telling the guys as we have this really tenacious attitude when it comes to defending, we need that same approach when we're trying to score," Soto said. "Finishing is about having an attitude, having a swag about yourself.
 
"The good thing is we're getting there. We're creating these chances and playing good soccer. The final product is what we're missing right now."
 
It was only the second time this season the Dons had failed to score a goal.
 
San Francisco had to fend off one final attack by UC Davis. In the second overtime period, the back line made some big plays, two of which came from Chase Hauser and Christian De Luna. In the 108th minute, Justin Kitts dribbled down the left side and ended up one-on-one with De Luna who was able to stay in front of Kitts and block his shot before the Dons were able to clear. Less than a minute later, Hauser dove far to his left to make a game-saving stop off a Lucas Mohageg header.
 
"They showed a lot of grit," Soto said. "They were very tired and found a way to keep the clean sheet."
 
After the early surge by the Aggies, the Dons gathered themselves and found their offensive rhythm. Following a foul in the 11th minute against UC Davis, Danny Kirkland took a free kick just outside of the penalty box but his shot went high.
 
The best chance in the half was delivered on a cross from David Romney and nearly found a streaking Ramos at the foot of the goal but the ball just missed his back foot.
 
 The Dons will be back in action on Sunday at San Jose State at 3 p.m.