In attempting to win their second straight game of the season, their first on the road, Sacramento State men’s soccer fell just short of the task and lost to the UC Davis Aggies on Sunday afternoon by the score of 2-1.

The Aggies (3-4-1) and Hornets (1-4-1) both played solid first halves, and though Davis was leading 1-0 at half-time thanks to forward Ryan Shaw’s goal, Sac State out shot Davis and had more scoring opportunities.

In the second half, however, it was a different story. Davis dominated Sac State to the tune of eight shots on goal to Sac State’s three and ultimately put the game out of reach with their second goal of the day by mid-fielder Keith Gilbert with only 11 minutes remaining in the contest.

Sac State fought back to come within one goal of a tie after Marco Ramirez knocked in his second goal of the season on a rebound from a penalty kick in the final minute.

The first goal of the day came late into the first period, as Gilbert found a wide-open Shaw and fed him a 20 yard pass that Shaw tapped into a vacant net for his fourth goal of the season.

The scoring picked up in the second period, but not until late in the game.

Sac State goalkeeper Matt McDougall saved his defense on many occasions as he stopped seven shots in the second period, but could not get to Gilbert’s late goal that essentially sealed the game.

After a steal at midfield, Gilbert took the ball down-field by himself, shook off a couple of defenders and scored on a goal that snuck right under the top-left crossbar.

Sac State made the game close soon after Gilbert’s goal.

A penalty kick was called for, and the Hornets got their first goal with 3 minutes and 10 seconds left as Marco Ramirez tapped in the rebound off Davis goalkeeper Charles Warne to make the score 2-1 and give Sac State a chance to tie the game up.

That chance never really came as Davis kept Sac State scoreless for the remainder of the contest and got their third win of the season, handing Sac State their fourth loss.

The Hornets stay on the road and play against Air Force on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. Sac State’s next game at home is against San Jose State on Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.