SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State freshman Cylus Sandoval scored his first career goal in the first half and, after San Jose State drew even early in the second half, Hornet senior Chimdum Mez scored what ended up being the winning goal as the Hornets earned a 2-1 victory over San José State on Friday at Hornet Field.

On a 102-degree afternoon in Sacramento the Hornets (1-2-1) picked up their first win of the season and their first victory at home since October 7, 2012. Sacramento State beat former MPSF rival San José State (1-4-0) for the second consecutive season after a win in San Jose last year.

"The first win is always important and winning at home is important to give us a little confidence," Sacramento State head coach Michael Linenberger said. "I didn't think we played great soccer today; the weather and the heat was tremendous for both teams and I think it really slowed the game down and made things difficult. I thought we showed some mental toughness to persevere through it."

The extreme heat took its toll on both teams as the first half did not see many great scoring chances for either side. Sandoval had the best looks for the home team early, missing a shot wide and having another try blocked in the first four minutes of the contest.

Those would be the only Hornet shots until the 23rd minute, when Sandoval scored his first collegiate goal. A slip pass from fellow freshman Elias Rieland found Sandoval with space to the right side of the goal and his low shot to the far post beat Spartan goalkeeper Emmanuel Espinoza to put the Hornets ahead.

Each team had just four shots in the first half and San Jose State put just one try on goal. The Spartans had all the early chances in the second half and found an equalizer in the 55th minute as a short cross from sophomore Uriel Ayala connected with freshman Greg Harte, who's diving header beat Hornet goalkeeper Philip Bru for his first career goal and a tie score.

Less than four minutes later the Hornets regained the lead. Connecting passes from Sacramento State freshman Fernando Ochoa and sophomore Ivan Ramirez gave Mez an open look straight in front of the San José State goal and he fired a low shot into the net to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead.

The Spartans ended up totaling 10 shots and five corner kicks in the second half and had some good scoring chances, but despite the opportunities the team failed to place a shot on goal over the last 25 minutes of the game as the Hornets held on for the win.

Bru finished with three saves for his first career victory while SJSU junior goalkeeper Felix Petterman, who played the entire second half and allowed the winning goal, took the loss. The Spartans had a 14-8 shot advantage but the Hornets put seven of their eight shot attempts on goal while the visitors had just four shots on goal.

Sacramento State's eight shots were taken by six different players, as Sandoval was the only Hornet to attempt multiple shots. The assists by Ochoa and Rieland were their first career points.

The Hornets will look for another win at 1 p.m. Sunday hosting Cleveland State. The Vikings dropped to 2-3-0 on the season after a 6-1 loss against No. 18 California on Friday.