NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - In similar fashion to last Saturday's 1-0 double-overtime win over Cal State Fullerton, Sacramento State got another winning goal from senior Chimdum Mez and redshirt freshman James Del Curto had another brilliant night in goal as the Hornets beat CSUN 1-0 on Thursday night in Northridge.

Mez' team-leading sixth goal of the season was also his fourth game-winning goal, as he has scored the game winner in each of Sacramento State's victories this year. Making just his third career start, Del Curto made eight saves, including one on a penalty kick and three on breakaways.

"James had a fantastic game today; he saved the penalty kick and made two or three other very good saves," Sacramento State had coach Michael Linenberger said. "I thought we played very well at times and Northridge had a good portion of the game as well and were very dangerous at times. In those moments I thought we did a great job of really being warriors and gritting it out."

Sacramento State (4-6-2, 2-1-0 Big West) played up a man for the final 12 minutes after Trevor Morley picked up his second yellow for the Matadors. Picked to win the Big West South in the preseason coaches' poll, CSUN (4-7-1, 0-3-0 Big West) remained winless in conference pay.

The majority of the goals scored by Mez this season have come on headers, and that was the case again on Thursday. Early in the second half in the 50th minute Hornet freshman Elias Rieland sent a cross from right to left that found Mez for the header inside the back post. He is now tied for the Big West lead in game-winning goals this season.

The game got to the second half scoreless after Del Curto made five saves in the first half. CSUN goalkeeper Adam Hobbs also made a pair of strong saves in the first half, but Del Curto had the biggest stop of the night as he stoned Morley on a penalty kick with 34 seconds left in the half after the Hornets were called for a handball in the box.

Sacramento State's goal came after senior Andres Garcia connected a corner kick with sophomore Javier Muñoz but his shot was blocked. Ten seconds later Rieland fed Mez for what would be the winning score.

CSUN had an 8-3 edge in shots in the second half and an 18-11 advantage overall. The Mez score was the only shot on goal for the Hornets in the second half while Del Curto was called upon for three second-half saves. Sacramento State did not allow a corner kick in the second half after CSUN took four in the first half.

The Matadors also totaled four yellow cards, counting the second on Morley that became a red, and had 18 fouls while the Hornets were issued just one yellow and had a season-low six fouls whistled.

Over the last two games Del Curto has made 18 saves without allowing a goal. Mez had four of the 11 Hornet shots of the game and has now scored six of the 10 goals scored by the team this season while Rieland picked up his team-leading second assist.

In addition to the strong play of Del Curto the Hornet defense should also be commended for holding CSUN senior Sagi Lev-Ari, who leads the Big West in scoring and is fourth in conference history in career goals, without a single shot on goal in the game, with one shot blocked and two misses wide.

"Winning on the road is not easy, especially in Big West play," Linenberger said. "We found a way to make plays and give ourselves a chance to win."

The Hornets will face an even stiffer test on Saturday night when they play at No. 11 UC Irvine.