Big Sky Tournament Central

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sophomore Kayla Collins scored the golden goal in the first overtime period as Sacramento State rallied for a 2-1 overtime win over Portland State in the final game of the regular season. With the win the Hornets qualified for the Big Sky Tournament.

Sacramento State (7-11-0, 5-5-0 Big Sky) got some help from Southern Utah, which tied Northern Arizona 2-2 on Friday to enable the Hornets to move one point ahead of the Lumberjacks with the win and clinch the final berth in the Big Sky Tournament.

As the No. 6 seed Sacramento State will face the No. 3 seed Eastern Washington at 10 a.m. next Thursday (Nov. 5) in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. Idaho, the regular season Big Sky champion, will host the tournament in Moscow, Idaho.

"It's been a really tough season in a lot of ways for our team but to end the regular season like this is just incredible," Sacramento State head coach Randy Dedini said. "I'm extremely happy for these girls; even though we had an up and down season they never wavered. They stayed committed and just worked extremely hard so I'm really happy for them."

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, Sacramento State got a goal from junior Adaurie Dayak in the 63rd minute to level the score. In the 99th minute, Collins took a pass from junior Kassidy Kellogg and fired a bullet into the far side of the Portland State goal to secure the win.

"Going into overtime I got a new burst of energy and I felt like everybody was feeling like we could win it," Collins said. "I called for the ball and I knew there was probably someone on my back so I turned and saw the open space and shot it. (Celebrating with the team) was just a burst of energy. It was amazing."

Heading into overtime the Hornets knew the NAU result and that they needed a win to clinch. Southern Utah actually blew a 2-0 lead in that game but was able to hang on for the tie, enabling the Hornets to surpass the Lumberjacks, a team they also beat at home in overtime in their first Big Sky game of the year Sept. 25.

Portland State (5-13-0, 3-7-0 Big Sky) had already been eliminated from postseason contention before Friday's game. The Vikings fought hard to play spoiler against the Hornets and had a 1-0 lead at halftime after Morgan Matthews scored following a Portland State corner kick in the 43rd minute.

Dayak brought the Hornets even with her team-leading sixth goal of the year, taking a lead pass in stride from junior Jennifer Lum and beating PSU goalkeeper Angela Haluska with a shot into the far corner from 15 yards.

The Hornets came close to a go-ahead goal in the latter stages of the half and early in overtime. In the final minutes of the first overtime period Kellogg took a pass from junior Alyssa Anderson and slipped a ball to Collins at the top of the box. The first-year Hornet took a dribble and fired past Haluska to end it.

Sacramento State junior goalkeeper Molly McConnell made four saves for the win and lowered her season goals against average to 1.25 as the Hornets allowed one or fewer goals for the third straight game. Haluska was a bit busier in the Vikings goal, making 10 saves in the loss.

The shot count finished even at 16 apiece while the Hornets had a 12-5 edge in shots on goal. Sacramento State took a season-high 11 corner kicks, including seven in the second half, and allowed only three Viking corners.

In each of Sacramento State's last two berths in the Big Sky Tournament, in 2007 and 2010, the Hornets went on to win the title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. To that end Sacramento State has won four straight Big Sky Tournament games.

The regular season meeting between Eastern Washington and Sacramento State was a 3-1 Eagle win on their home field. The Eagles and Hornets have never before met in the Big Sky Tournament.

Collins Game-Winning Goal: