IRVINE, Calif. - The Hornets and the Anteaters were scoreless into the 67th minute before No. 18 UC Irvine scored twice in just one minute and 29 seconds en route to a 2-0 victory in a first-round matchup in the Big West Tournament.

Sacramento State (6-11-3, 4-5-1 Big West) saw its season come to a close after reaching the Big West Tournament for the first time. UC Irvine (13-5-2, 4-5-1 Big West), which has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country this season, scored a 2-0 home win over Sacramento State for the second time this season.

"You have to take your hat off to Irvine; I thought they played quite well tonight and they dominated the majority of the game in possession and chances," Sacramento State head coach Michael Linenberger said. "They defended well and never really allowed us to find a rhythm. I was disappointed by our overall performance and I didn't think we had our best day, but having said that even after giving up two quick goals I thought we continued to fight and work all the way to the dying seconds of the game."

Sacramento State had a shot hit the crossbar and a header try miss just high in the final minutes of the contest as the Anteaters held on for the win. UC Irvine had an 18-7 shot advantage for the game and led 7-2 in shots on goal with a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

In similar fashion to when the team's met in Irvine back on Oct. 11, the Hornets kept the Anteaters scoreless into the second half. In that game UC Irvine scored its two goals over an eight-minute stretch, but on Saturday night they came in quicker succession.

After three consecutive corner kicks, the Anteaters were finally able to beat Hornet goalkeeper Philip Bru in the 64th minute as a corner by Eduardo Calzada was headed between two Anteaters with a finish by Matt Tilley. A minute and a half later, Mitchell Alvarez sent a long lead pass to teammate Cameron Iwasa, who took a dribble and beat Bru to the far post.

The Hornets created some chances to get back even, with the best opportunity coming on a shot in the box by sophomore Bert Corona in the 89th minute that hit the crossbar. Senior Chimdum Mez then had a header try miss just high in the final seconds.

Each team placed two shots on goal in the first half, but in the second half the Anteaters had five tries on goal while the Hornets had none. Bru finished with four saves and got some help from senior defender Mason McCann, who cleared a ball off the goal line in the 56th minute for a team save. UC Irvine backstop Michael Breslin earned the shutout.

Sacramento State qualified for the Big West Tournament for the first time after being unanimously picked to finish last in the Big West North division in the preseason. The Hornets had a three-win improvement from last season in Big West play and proved they belong in one of the top soccer conferences in the country.

"I think if you look at the entire body of work through the season from the first game to tonight there were a lot of peaks and valleys along the way," Linenberger said. "For sure there was major progress in the conference, winning some important games on the road late in the season and making the postseason for the first time. That's something we've been working on for three years and we finally got a taste of it.

"We took some important steps forwards as a team and this a very young group overall with a lot of young guys returning so we're excited about the next few years with this team."