SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento State hosted the Eastern Washington Eagles for its Big Sky Conference opener on Friday, playing the Eagles to a scoreless draw Friday at Hornet Field.

Friday afternoon's match was Sacramento State's (1-0-2, 0-0-1 Big Sky) first in nearly a month as the Hornets opened league play against the Eagles (3-2-1, 0-0-1).

It was the defense that took center stage on Friday as Sacramento State shut out the Eagles and their Big Sky-leading offense. Eastern Washington entered Friday's match averaging more than two goals per match and was coming off back-to-back 3-1 wins over Portland State. 

While Eastern Washington managed to pile up 17 total shots in Friday's match, only nine were placed on frame and, of those nine, only three or four were good attempts that challenged Sacramento State's keeper, Aaliyah Fesili.

Fesili saved all nine shots on goal against her on Friday, matching her career high. Fesili made nine saves earlier this season against Pacific and once last season on the road at Weber State.

While Eastern Washington piled up the shots, the Hornets were more selective with their attacks, taking just five shots in the contest, including two in the first overtime period. Forward Tiffany Miras led the team with three shots, while Aubrey Goodwill and Julia Herrera each added another.

The shutout was Sacramento State's first of the season. Last year, the Hornets stifled their opposition, shutting out opponents 10 times in 19 matches.

Friday's match was the fourth to finish in double overtime this season for Sacramento State, who moved to 1-0-3 overall on the season. Even the team's lone win so far in 2021 came in double overtime, a golden goal off the foot of Erika Sosa against Saint Mary's in the season opener.

Friday's match was the first of two this weekend between the Hornets and Eagles, who are developing quite a rivalry recently. After Sunday's finale against Eastern Washington, each of Sacramento State's last four Big Sky matchups will have been against the Eagles.

After the Hornets defeated Eastern Washington, 1-0, to take the No. 2 seed in last year's regular season finale, the Eagles countered by eliminating the Hornets, 2-1 (2OT) in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals just over a year ago.  

Sunday's match against Eastern Washington will kick off at 1 p.m. PT. As always, the Hornets' match will stream live online on Pluto.TV, channel 1052. Links to live video and live stats are available online on the Sacramento State women's soccer schedule at HornetSports.com.