UC Davis Book MPSF Final Date With Delaware After 3-1 Win Over Queens
UC Davis are one win from a conference title, and nobody would have picked them for it a month ago.
The Aggies beat Queens 3-1 in Friday’s MPSF semifinal in Newark, Delaware, to set up a final against top seeds and defending champions Delaware on Saturday at noon ET (10 p.m. PKT) at Fred P. Rullo Stadium.
Davis arrived at 3-12. That’s the honest record, and it made them underdogs in a three-team league where Delaware finished 9-8. But the Aggies have been collecting honours anyway. Ella Franken was named the MPSF Defensive Player of the Year, and she leads the team with five goals. Charlotte Connally took Freshman of the Year. Queens, in their first season in the league, finish at 4-10 after a campaign in which Maddie Just scored four.
Delaware are the test now. The Blue Hens beat UC Davis 3-2 two weeks ago, and they beat them 2-1 in last season’s final too. Livia van’t Hek, the MPSF Offensive Player of the Year, has nine goals for Delaware, and the Hens’ coaching staff were named the conference’s best.
For our money, Delaware start favourites at home. But Davis have already beaten a ranked side this season, stunning No. 12 Louisville 1-0 in September, and they’ve now won a semifinal nobody gave them much chance in. One more win, and the record won’t matter at all.
