SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Sophomore Dominic Vegaalban scored a goal and added two assists in the first half, while three other teammates also dented the back of the net on the night, helping lift the Sacramento State men's soccer team to a dominating 4-0 shutout of Big West Conference rival Cal Poly on Wednesday at Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The win was the second straight for the Hornets, who clinched consecutive victories for the first time since winning three straight over LMU, Gonzaga, and Utah Tech on Sept. 8-16. They improved to 8-6-2 overall and 3-4 in league play, posting the most wins in a season since the 2017 squad finished with eight triumphs.
Tying a season high with its four goals, Sacramento State's 4-0 result was the largest shutout win since an 11-0 victory over William Jessup in 2011 and the largest shutout win over a Division I opponent since an 8-0 shutout of LMU in 1993.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs fell to 1-11-3 overall and 1-3-3 with the loss.
Francisco Magana, Austin Wehner, and Vegaalban all scored in the opening 45 minutes, with Vegaalban assisting on the first two scores of the night en route to the 3-0 lead at the break. It marked the second three-goal half by Sacramento State this season, joining their second half in a 4-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sept. 1, and the first three-goal first half for the Hornets since a 3-2 win over then-No. 15 Utah Valley on Sept. 22, 2016.
Vegaalban became the first Sacramento State player with two assists in a match since Tyler Moss accomplished the feat against UC San Diego last season, while Magana netted his team-best fifth goal of the year to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
The five goals by Magana are the most in a single-season by a Hornet since Benji Kikanovic and Dominic Scotti had five in 2018 and Magana's first score since his hat trick against Gonzaga on Sept. 11.
Wehner's goal in the 23rd minute, sneaking in a pass from Vegaalban on the left side to the left post, gave him five points in the last two matches and eight points since the start of Big West play (three goals and two assists).
Vegaalban then added his fourth goal of the year in the 29th minute from the penalty spot as Wehner was taken down in the box, drawing a card and a penalty opportunity, which Vegaalban buried to the lower right side for the three-goal advantage.
It marked the second straight match that Vegaalban has scored a goal and the fourth time this season that a Hornet has found the back of the net in back-to-back matches: Magana versus Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga, Michael Gonzalez versus UNLV and San Francisco, and Cody Sundquist against CSU Bakersfield and UC San Diego.
After the break, it was Genaro Alfaro's turn to get into the scoring column in the 59th minute, tucking a rocket of a free kick under the bar to the upper left corner to cap the scoring. It was the third goal of the year for Alfaro, who scored for the first time since a 2-2 draw at UNLV on Sept. 18.
Cal Poly held an 8-7 advantage in shots, but the Hornets put six of their seven attempts on frame to just one for the Mustangs. Goalkeeper Edgar Guerra won his second straight start, forced to make only one save en route to his first career shutout and his fifth win of the year.
Sacramento State closes out the road portion of its regular season schedule on Saturday (Oct. 22), traveling to Orange County to take on Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
