Turlock, CA
On a non-stop rainy Saturday, AC was held to a 2-2 draw against conference leaders FC Davis. Academica came into the match in 4th place but only 3 pts behind Davis who leads the conference with 13 points in 6 matches.
The match kicked off in wet conditions and the natural grass surface was slick with the day’s rainfall. AC game out of the gates hot as they pressed Davis’ back line who struggled to handle the pressure and gave up possession in their half often. AC was able to control possession in the middle of the park as Davis was forced to go wide with their counter attacks. The Gold and Black struck first as Cody Golbad beat two defenders before he put his shot past the Davis keeper to open the scoring in the 14th min. This was Golbad’s 5th goal this season. Davis came into the game a bit more after the goal as several slips of the AC defense allowed for shots on goal but GK Alonso Lara was on hand to smother the attempts. The half time whistle blew with no change to the score line as AC went into the half with a one goal lead and the weather continued to cause problems for both teams.
The second half started much as the first with opportunities aplenty for both teams. Academica were able to secure several corners that lead to chances while Davis was accomplishing the same on the other end. The Lions got their revenge as a scramble in the AC box fell to Joe King and his deflected shot snuck into the net to equalize the match at 1-1 in the 75th min. Academica continued to push the matter in the attacking third after the goal and it paid off only minutes later as defender Arnaldo “El Tiburon” Gutierrez half volleyed a scramble in the Davis box home to take the lead again in the 79th min. This was Gutierrez’s 3rd goal of the season and his 2nd match in a row scoring.
Academica’s joy was short lived as only a couple minutes later, a free kick outside of the AC box forced a saved from Lara who could only parry it into the path of Davis’ Joe Skvarna who slotted it home to make it 2-2. AC searched for a winner but one was not to be found as the scoreline held in the torrid conditions.
The conference takes Memorial Weekend off as AC travels to Sacramento Gold on June 1st and FC Davis hosts San Ramon FC the same day. The Black and Gold return home on June 8th at 6pm as they look for revenge over El Farolito.