SACRAMENTO -- Sophomore Bryan Gutierrez scored a goal for the second consecutive match, but a pair of first-half scores by visiting UC Davis stood up as the Aggies posted a 2-1 victory over Sacramento State in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Hornet Soccer Field.

The loss ended the Hornets' three match winning streak, dropping them to 9-7-2 overall and 4-5 in league play. As of 6:38 p.m. on Saturday, Sacramento State needs a win by CSUN at Cal State Fullerton in order to qualify for next week's Big West Conference Tournament for the first time since 2017.

With the victory, UC Davis improved to 5-8-4 overall and 4-3-2 in league play, clinching a berth in the conference tournament in the process.

Scores by Max Glasser in the 10th minute and Ethan Hoard in the 28th minute staked the Aggies to the early lead, one that stood until the halftime horn.

Gutierrez then wasted little time in halving that deficit, needing just over four minutes to get the Hornets on the board in the second half. After Gutierrez had won the ball in the offensive third, he gave it away to Christo Cervantes, who chipped it back to Gutierrez inside the penalty area and the sophomore didn't miss. His right-footed finish back to the left beat the Aggie goalkeeper to make it 2-1.

Sacramento State continued to apply the pressure, taking the next six shot attempts after Gutierrez's goal, including an attempt by Danny Govea that clanged off the crossbar in the 75th minute, and the Hornets finished with seven of the nine attempts in the second half, but could not find the equalizer.

Individually, Dominic Vegaalban finished with a team-high three shot attempts as the Hornets held an 11-8 advantage in that category overall for the contest. Cervantes and Genaro Alfaro added two apiece, while four others contributed one. Goalkeeper Edgar Guerra finished with four saves.

Should Sacramento State qualify for the tournament, postseason play begins on Wednesday (Nov. 2) at the home field of the higher seeded team.