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FRESNO, Calif. \u2014 The 2026 UC Davis women’s soccer team will open its 2026 season on the road at Fresno State when the teams square off at Bulldog Soccer Stadium this Wednesday, August 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the Pac-12 YouTube channel<\/a> and live stats are available via Stat Broadcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n All NCAA Division I women’s soccer teams can play their first game on August 12 and the date marks the earliest in the calendar year the Aggies have ever opened a regular season. The previous record came on August 14 in both 2021 and 2025.<\/p>\n “We are excited to get our 2026 season underway,” second-year UC Davis head coach Kat Martz said about a 2026 team that features 13 newcomers, including six first-year transfers. “We’ve been training hard and it’s time to get started.”<\/p>\n The team’s regular-season home opener is four days later against Causeway rival Sacramento State on Sunday, Aug. 16 (8 p.m.).<\/p>\n The date is also the first official UC Davis competition for the 2026-27 academic year.<\/p>\n Single-game tickets for all UC Davis home games including the exhibition are $10 for Youth (3-13 years old) and $13 for general admission. Flexbooks – packs of 10 tickets redeemable in any combination – are $85. Discounted group tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit https:\/\/ucdavisaggies.evenue.net\/<\/a>, contact the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or email aggietickets@ucdavis.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n Event parking will be honored in Lot 25 and the Pavilion Parking Structure for all home games through Sept. 11. The cost for weekday games is $5.50, while weekends are free but both require parking permits. There is construction work in the area and fans should follow posted signage around the Pavilion Parking Structure, Lot 25 and Aggie Soccer Field to enter the venue.<\/p>\n NOTES<\/p>\n UC DAVIS VS. FRESNO STATE<\/p>\n
2026 SEASON<\/p>\n
POSITION PREVIEWS<\/p>\n FORWARDS (7) “All of our newcomers have made an immediate impact for us,” Mertz said. “We obviously need to score more goals than we did last year and they are going to help us do that. They play with joy and are dangerous threats. Our returnees have also been working extremely hard to improve and make significant contributions this season.”<\/p>\n
MIDFIELDERS (9) “We are excited to return so many players in our midfield,” Mertz said. “When you have that type of experience at one position and then add talented newcomers to the mix it should be a good group.”<\/p>\n
DEFENDERS (9) “We have a lot of proven talent and experience in our backfield heading into this season,” Mertz said. “Our returnees have played a lot of soccer for UC Davis, while we also have a couple of interesting transfers who will compete for playing time now and two freshmen that should be a big part of what we do in the future.”<\/p>\n
GOALKEEPERS (3) “We have a great group of hungry goalkeepers,” Mertz said. “They are all going to make each other better.”<\/p>\n
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS\u00a0
\n\tUC Davis leads the all-time series against Fresno State, 4-3-1.
\n\tThe teams battled to a 1-1 tie the last time they met on Aug. 14, 2025. The game served as the first night match ever at UC Davis and also the Aggie head coaching debut of Kat Mertz<\/a>. Sydney Bushman<\/a> had the Aggies’ lone goal in the 48th minute when she scored on a rebound from Kiley Fehrenbacher’s<\/a> shot after a corner kick before the Bulldogs got the equalizer in the 84th minute when Alexis Campbell scored off Ciara Wilson’s feed.
\n\tThe last time the teams played in Fresno was on Sept. 7, 2017. The Bulldogs were a 2-1 winner in overtime. UC Davis won the other two meetings in Fresno by 3-2 margins in 2008 and 2010 with the Aggies needing overtime to win the 2010 matchup.
\n\tThe first ever meetings between the teams was a 1-0 Aggie win in overtime in Davis on Sept. 2, 2007.
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\n\tMertz begins her second season at the helm of the Aggies’ in 2026 and 20th as a head coach with previous stops at UNLV (2005-09), St. Louis (2012), Oregon (2013-19) and MSU Denver (2020-24) before taking over at UC Davis in 2025. She has also been an assistant coach at Virginia (1999), UCLA (2000-04) and Texas (2010-11). In addition, she has held various roles with the U.S. Women’s National Team and Olympic Development Program.
\n\tThe 28-player roster is a nearly equal mix of returnees (15) and newcomers (13), including six first-year transfers in F Ashley Brewer<\/a> (Cal Poly), F Jaycee DeFazio<\/a> (Cal Poly), D Sydney Fong (San Diego\/Nevada), GK Dina Frenkel<\/a> (Purdue), M Stella Villalta<\/a> (Santa Clara) and GK Piper Wilkison<\/a> (Butler).
\n\tSix returnees (M Sydney Bushman<\/a>, M Ashleigh Garcia<\/a>, D Kiley Fehrenbacher<\/a>, F Lisette Gregoris<\/a>, GK Cat Pieper<\/a>, M Karla Sandoval<\/a>) from a year ago played in all 19 contests in 2025.
\n\tThe team’s 15 returnees combined to play in 341 games and make 147 starts a year ago\u00a0
\n\tThe captains are M Savannah Cordero<\/a>, Garcia and and D Livi Lewis<\/a>\u00a0
\n\tUC Davis has changed conferences and will be playing in the Mountain West for the first time after most recently being a member of the Big West in 2025.
\n\tThree Aggies (F Ashley Brewer<\/a>, Cordero, D Courtney Wagner<\/a>) were named to the preseason Mountain West Women’s Soccer Watch list.
\n\tUC Davis was selected to finish eighth in the Mountain West in the league’s preseason poll.
\n\tAggie assistant coaches and Emilee Tominovich<\/a> and Abbie Faingold<\/a> return for a second season.
\n\tUC Davis has added Travis Clarke to its coaching staff as an assistant coach. Clarke has 14 seasons of experience as a collegiate head coach at Hawai’i-Hilo (2006-08), Cal State San Bernardino (2009-13) and Saint Mary’s (2014-19).
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\nThe Aggies scored the fewest goals in the Big West last year and head coach Kat Mertz<\/a> has done something about trying to improve that stat by bringing in five newcomers led by Cal Poly transfers Ashley Brewer<\/a> and Jaycee DeFazio<\/a>. Brewer contributed a goal and an assist while playing in 19 of 22 games off the bench as a 2025 freshman at Cal Poly for a team that finished 10-3-9 overall, won the Big West Tournament title and reached the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 1 seed Stanford. As a prep at San Luis Obispo High School, she scored 76 career points on 59 goals and 17 assists while her squads won three All-Mountain League titles. DeFazio spent two seasons at Cal Poly (2023-24) and also has extensive playing experience internationally in Thailand and the Philippines. Freshmen Presley Henry<\/a> and Chloe Keating<\/a> were both highly decorated as preps with Henry a three-time first-team All-Section choice and Keating a West Alameda County Player of the Year. McKayla Farrell<\/a>, Lisette Gregoris<\/a> and Lakelee Perkins<\/a> are the team’s three returnees. Gregoris had a pair of goals last season, while Perkins picked up one.<\/p>\n
\n\tAshley Brewer<\/a> (R-So., San Luis Obispo, Calif.\/San Luis Obispo HS\/Cal Poly)
\n\tJaycee DeFazio<\/a> (R-So., El Dorado Hills, Calif.\/St. Francis HS\/Cal Poly)
\n\tMcKayla Farrell<\/a> (R-Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.\/Western Christian HS)
\n\tLisette Gregoris<\/a> (R-Jr., Patterson, Calif.\/Patterson HS\/Arizona State)
\n\tPresley Henry<\/a> (Fr., Canyon Lake, Calif.\/Murrieta Valley HS)
\n\tChloe Keating<\/a> (Fr., Oakland, Calif.\/Bishop O’Dowd HS)
\n\tLakelee Perkins<\/a> (R-So., Rocklin, Calif.\/Whitney HS)
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\nThe Aggies’ midfield will feature six players who started games for the team in 2025, including the only one to start all 19 in Sydney Bushman<\/a>, who contributed a pair goals for four points while putting up 20 shots and eight shots on goal. Other returning midfielders who started games in 2025 include Savannah Cordero<\/a> (8 GP, 5 GS), Ashleigh Garcia<\/a> (19 GP, 16 GS), Charlotte Henness<\/a> (18 GP, 7 GS), Karla Sandoval<\/a> (19 GP, 5 GS) and Viet-Thy Tran<\/a> (17 GP, 5 GS). Freshmen Bella Fernandez<\/a>, Payton Henry<\/a> and Kaya Herndon<\/a> are the team’s three newcomers. All three were highly-decorated as preps with Fernandez picking up both Vine Valley Athletic League MVP and Napa County Player of the Year honors during her career, while Henry was a two-time first-team all-league choice and Herndon the Pioneer League Player of the Year.<\/p>\n
\n\tSydney Bushman<\/a> (Jr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.\/Mira Costa HS)
\n\tSavannah Cordero<\/a> (Sr., Tracy, Calif.\/Tracy HS)
\n\tBella Fernandez<\/a> (Fr., Napa, Calif.\/Justin Siena HS)
\n\tCharlotte Henness<\/a> (R-Sr., Henderson, Nev.\/Nevada State HS)
\n\tPayton Henry<\/a> (Fr., Canyon Lake, Calif.\/Murrieta Valley HS)
\n\tKaya Herndon<\/a> (Fr., Torrance, Calif.\/Torrance HS)
\n\tAshleigh Garcia<\/a> (R-Sr., Tracy, Calif.\/Tracy HS)
\n\tKaria Sandoval (R-Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.\/Los Osos HS\/Loyola Marymount)
\n\tViet-Thy Tran<\/a> (Sr., Santa Clara, Calif.\/Wilcox HS)
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\nUC Davis returns four veteran defenders with significant starting experience from a year ago in Kiley Fehrenbacher<\/a>, Summer Humphreys<\/a>, Livi Lewis<\/a> and Courtney Wagner<\/a>. Fehrenbacher played in and started all 19 games, while Humphreys, Lewis and Wanger played in a combined 47 contests with 38 starts (Humphreys 18\/13, Lewis 15\/11, Wagner 14\/14). The team’s other returnee is Ava Peterson<\/a>, who saw limited action a year ago by participating in seven games all off the bench. The newcomers include transfers Sydnie Fong<\/a> (Nevada\/San Diego) and Stella Villata (Santa Clara), as well as true freshmen Loralei Heldreth<\/a> and Samantha Murdin<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\tKiley Fehrenbacher<\/a> (R-So., San Diego, Calif.\/Point Loma HS\/Oregon)
\n\tSydnie Fong<\/a> (R-Sr., Novato, Calif.\/San Marin HS\/San Diego\/Nevada)
\n\tLoralei Heldreth<\/a> (Fr., Barstow, Calif.\/Excelsior Charter)
\n\tSummer Humphreys<\/a> (R-Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.\/La Costa Canyon HS)
\n\tLivi Lewis<\/a> (R-Sr., Carlsbad, Calif\/Carlsbad HS)
\n\tSamantha Murdin<\/a> (Fr., Lafayette, Calif.\/Acalanes HS)
\n\tAva Peterson<\/a> (So., Las Vegas, Nev.\/Palos Verde HS)
\n\tStella Villalta<\/a> (R-So., Woodside, Calif.\/The American International School in England\/Santa Clara)
\n\tCourtney Wagner<\/a> (R-Jr., Rocklin, Calif.\/Whitney HS)
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\nFifth-year senior Cat Pieper<\/a> returned to the Aggies and collegiate soccer in 2025 after a two-year absence while studying at Marquette, starting all 19 games while posting respectable numbers of a 1.18 goals against average and a .780 save percentage. In 2026, Mertz has brought in a pair of transfers to challenge Pieper for the job in Dina Frenkel<\/a> (Purdue) and Piper Wilkison<\/a> (Butler).<\/p>\n
\n\tDina Frenkel<\/a> (R-Fr., San Francisco, Calif.\/St. Ignatius Prep\/Purdue)
\n\tCat Pieper<\/a> (R-Sr., Random Lake, Wis.\/Random Lake HS)
\n\tPiper Wllkison (R-So., Newport Beach, Calif.\/Mater Dei HS\/Butler)
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\nUC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026\u201327.\u00a0<\/p>\n