SACRAMENTO -- As the midpoint of the Big West Conference schedule approaches, the Sacramento State men's soccer team is on the hunt for points, hosting a pair of matches at Hornet Soccer Field this week. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, perennial power UC Santa Barbara pays a visit on Wednesday (Oct. 12) before UC Riverside comes to town on Saturday (Oct. 15). Both matches are scheduled to kick-off at 3 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #14
WHAT: UC Santa Barbara (7-2-4, 2-0-2 Big West) at Sacramento State (6-5-2, 1-3 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022
TIME: 3 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
BUY TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #15
WHAT: UC Riverside (3-6-3, 2-1-1 Big West) at Sacramento State (6-5-2, 1-3 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022
TIME: 3 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
BUY TICKETS: HornetSports.com
IN THE POLLS: UC Santa Barbara is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll after entering last week ranked No. 24 in the nation... Sacramento State and UC Riverside are unranked... The Gauchos are ranked No. 4 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Far West Region poll, while Sacramento State is down three spots to No. 10... The Hornets have been regionally ranked for each of the last five weeks, reaching as high as No. 4 in the region.
THAT'S RANK: Sacramento State's appearance in the Sept. 20 United Soccer Coaches national poll marked only the seventh time that the Hornets have been among that group according to the organization's archive that dates back to 1996, and the first since they received six votes on Aug. 30, 2011. Sacramento State has twice finished the year receiving votes nationally in 2009 and 2010, including a program-high seven votes at the end of the 2010 campaign.
BE A FOLLOWER...: Fans can keep up with the latest in Sacramento State athletics by following us on Facebook (/SacramentoStateAthletics), Twitter (@HornetSports), and Instagram (@sacstateathletics). You can also follow the Hornets' men's soccer program on all three platforms: Instagram (@sacstatemsoccer), Twitter (@sacstmsoccer), and Facebook (/sacstatemsoccer).
WE'LL DO IT LIVE!: This week's matches against UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside will be streamed live on the ESPN+ subscription platform. Links to watch and for live stats for all matches throughout the season will be posted, as soon as they are available, on the men's soccer schedule page at HornetSports.com.
PRESEASON PICKS: After narrowly missing out on a top-six finish and a Big West Conference Tournament berth in 2021, the Hornets were picked to finish fifth in the league in 2022 according to a vote of head coaches released on Aug. 19. Sacramento State garnered 46 total points to finish just one point behind UC Riverside in fourth and three back from UC Davis in third. Everyone is chasing UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, which received 71 points each to tie for the top spot, but the Gauchos took home six first-place votes to three for the Anteaters.
SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA: The Gauchos enter the week with a 7-2-4 overall record and an unbeaten 2-0-2 mark in Big West Conference play following a pair of scoreless draws against CSU Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton last week... UCSB is unbeaten in its last four since the start of conference play, last suffering a 2-1 loss at home against Stanford on Sept. 24... Nine of the team's 13 matches have been played at home, but the Gauchos are unbeaten (2-0-2) on the road this year... Junior forward Finn Ballard McBride leads the team with six goals and 12 points on the season, while sophomore forward Salvador Aguilar is second with 11 points on five goals and an assist... Junior goalkeeper Leroy Zeller has played every minute, posting a 0.85 goals against average and 43 saves (.796 save percentage) to go with five shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: UC Santa Barbara holds a commanding 15-5-4 lead in the all-time series with Sacramento State following a 3-0 victory in Santa Barbara last season... The Hornets' last win in the series came at home in 2018 by a 1-0 score -- the only blemish in a run by the Gauchos that has seen them post a 4-1-2 record in the last seven meetings... UCSB leads the series 6-4-1 in Sacramento, but the two teams have split the last four meetings in California's capitol dating back to 2015.
SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE: The Highlanders enter the week with a 3-6-3 overall record and a 2-1-1 mark in league play, posting a 1-0 win at UC San Diego and drawing at Cal Poly to extend their unbeaten streak to three... UC Riverside hosts UC Irvine on Wednesday before heading to Northern California... Sophomore forward Noah Lopez leads the team with four goals and 11 points, while senior midfielder Leopoldo Hernandez leads the squad with six assists... Junior goalkeeper Carlos Gonzalez has played every minute in net for UCR, posting a 1.67 goals against average and 41 saves (.672 save percentage) to go with a pair of shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: UC Riverside holds an 8-6-3 lead in the all-time series with Sacramento State, but the Hornets have won three of the last five meetings with the Highlanders since 2016... UCR posted a 2-0 win at home last season, which followed a 2-1 Sacramento State victory in 2019... Saturday marks the first meeting in Sacramento since 2018, when the Highlanders posted a 2-0 victory... The series is knotted at 4-4-1 in matches played at Hornet Soccer Field, but UC Riverside has won three of the last four meetings in Northern California.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State is a combined 55-100-22 against its Big West Conference rivals since 2012, posting its highest win totals against Cal Poly and UC Davis (nine).
THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: Nine of the team's 13 matches this season have been decided by a single goal, including the last five straight dating back to a 2-2 draw at UNLV on Sept. 18. Aside from the team's two draws this year, the only matches to be decided by more than a single score were the team's season opener at No. 3 Washington (L, 3-0) and its 4-1 victory at Saint Mary's on Sept. 1 in Moraga, Calif.
AND AN ASSIST MAKES THREE: Junior Cody Sundquist's assist on Wehner's goal against CSUN gave the Hornet newcomer at least a point in three consecutive matches -- the longest such run since Oscar Govea opened the 2019 season with two goals and two assists in Sacramento State's first four matches of the season.
GUESS WHO'S BACK: After missing the team's previous nine matches due to injury, sophomore Dominic Vegaalban made his return to the field in Saturday night's battle at UC Irvine, appearing in 64 minutes as a reserve. Vegaalban hadn't played since the Hornets' 4-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sept. 1, scoring a goal and adding an assist against the Gaels before being relegated to the sidelines.
WEHNER BACK IN THE GROOVE: Junior Austin Wehner got himself back in the scoring column against CSUN as his 77th minute score tied the match up against the Matadors and gave him points in two straight contests after assisting on Cody Sundquist's goal against UC San Diego the week earlier. It was Wehner's first goal since scoring as part of the Hornets' 4-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sept. 1.
MINUTE MAN: It's been difficult to get Genaro Alfaro off the field this season as the junior has played all 90 minutes in a match 11 times in the team's 13 contests this season -- including each of the last 10 -- and added another 89-minute performance. Sophomore Alejandro Padilla is next on the list, going the distance nine times (including the last eight), with no other Hornet collecting more than six (Jaime Robles and Ali Sasankhah).
NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT WINS: Sacramento State's 1-0 shutout of CSU Bakersfield in its Big West opener gave the Hornets their sixth victory of the season -- the most for the program since the 2019 squad posted seven victories. A win on Wednesday against UC Santa Barbara would give Sacramento State its fourth win at home this year -- the highest home win total since the 2016 team finished 6-3-1 at Hornet Soccer Field.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: Sacramento State has had 10 different players score goals this season -- tied for the second-most among Big West schools with UC Santa Barbara (10) and behind Cal State Fullerton (15) -- while seven different Hornets have found the back of the net multiple times to tie the Titans for the league lead in that category.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Six different Hornets have accounted for the game-winning scores in each of the team's six victories this season: Dominic Vegaalban (San Jose State), Austin Wehner (Saint Mary's), Christo Cervantes (LMU), Francisco Magana (Gonzaga), Jaime Robles (Utah Tech), and Cody Sundquist (CSU Bakersfield), while Vegaalban, Wehner, Genaro Alfaro, and Alejandro Padilla have tallied game-winning assists. Dating back to last year, Sacramento State's last eight game-winners have been scored by eight different players when you add Titus Washington's winner versus UC San Diego and Alejandro Alcantara's score against Cal State Fullerton.
FIRST!: The Hornets have gotten off to a strong start by scoring first in eight of their 13 matches thus far this season -- and 10 of their last 15 dating back to last year -- posting a 6-1-1 record in those contests in 2022 after suffering their first such loss at UC San Diego on Oct. 5. The eight "first goals" this season are tied for second in the Big West with Cal State Fullerton entering the week, trailing only UC Riverside's nine.
THAT'S OFFENSIVE: And we mean that in a good way. After two weeks of league action, Sacramento State ranks among the top three in the Big West in a number of offensive categories, including: shots (2nd), shots per game (2nd), shots on goal (2nd), points (3rd), points per game (3rd), goals scored (3rd), and goals per game (3rd).
CORNERED: The Hornets enter this week's Big West contests with a league-high 74 corners on the season, averaging 5.69 per contest (No. 52 in the NCAA) through the team's 13 matches. Sacramento State earned 11 corners in its 2-2 draw at UNLV on Sept. 18 -- the most in a single match since collecting 14 against William Jessup on Sept. 24, 2010, and the most against a Division I opponent since posting 13 against Loyola Marymount a week earlier on Sept. 17, 2010.
