SACRAMENTO -- The Hornets are in... now it's just a matter of how high they will be seeded. Clinching a Big Sky Conference Tournament berth following its victories at Eastern Washington and Idaho last week, the Sacramento State women's soccer team has only a contest at league co-leader Northern Arizona on Friday (Oct. 21) remaining before the start of the postseason. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
MATCH #17
WHAT: Sacramento State (4-8-4, 4-2-1 Big Sky) at Northern Arizona (6-5-4, 5-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21, 2022
TIME: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Flagstaff, Ariz.
STADIUM: Lumberjack Stadium
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: NAUAthletics.com
IN THE POLLS: Neither Sacramento State, nor Northern Arizona, are ranked nationally entering this week's matches.
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' women's soccer program on all three platforms: Instagram (@sacstatewsoccer), Twitter (@sacstatewsoccer), and Facebook (/sacstatewsoccer).
WE'LL DO IT LIVE!: This week's match at Northern Arizona 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 women's soccer schedule page at HornetSports.com.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!: The Hornets have named their captains for the 2022 season as senior Aubrey Goodwill has been joined by juniors Shylah Soon and Isabella Vinsonhaler.
GOODWILL EARNS BIG SKY WEEKLY DEFENSIVE HONORS: After helping her team to a pair of much-needed victories in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, Sacramento State senior defender Aubrey Goodwill has been named the Big Sky Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 18. Goodwill became the first Hornet defensive award-winner since goalkeeper Katie Price took home the honor back on Sept. 7, 2021, and picked up the third such award of her career, tying her with Amy Seely (2000-03) for the third-most defensive player of the week honors from the conference office in school history. More details at HornetSports.com.
BIG SKY BIG PICTURE: With only a few matches remaining in the regular season, the Hornets have clinched a berth in the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the third consecutive season (not counting the pandemic delayed 2020-21 spring campaign) and the 13th time overall since joining the league in 1996. Sacramento State, which enters the week in fourth place with 13 points, can finish as high as league champions and as low as the No. 5 seed depending on this week's results, trailing league-leading Northern Arizona and Idaho (15 points) by only two points and third-place Portland State (14 points) by a single point. The Hornets' outside chance at a title -- and the tournament's top seed -- depends on a win over the Lumberjacks on Friday, an NAU draw with the Vikings on Sunday, and either a loss or a draw by Idaho against Eastern Washington.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Lumberjacks enter the week with a 6-5-4 overall record and a 5-1 mark in Big Sky play, standing tied atop the league table with Idaho on 15 points with two matches remaining... NAU has won its last five straight -- four via the shutout -- following a 1-0 loss at Weber State to start the league slate, outscoring opponents by a 7-1 count in that stretch... The Lumberjacks are 3-3-2 at home this season... NAU has three players with 10-or-more points on the year, led by junior Maddie Shafer, who has scored five goals and assisted on four others... Allison Veloz and Dai Williams have 11 and 10 points, respectively... Sophomore goalkeeper Trinity Corcoran has played the majority of minutes in net, posting a 0.55 goals against average and 38 saves to go with an .864 save percentage and seven shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: Northern Arizona leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 14-9-5 count, but the Hornets posted a 1-0 victory in last year's Big Sky Tournament opener to end a six-match (0-3-3) winless streak against the Lumberjacks... Sacramento State's last regular season win in the series came in 2015, a 1-0 overtime triumph at home... The Hornets are 1-9-2 in Flagstaff, Ariz., posting seven of their nine wins in the series at home (7-3-3)... Sacramento State's only win at NAU came in a conference tournament match in 2010 by a 1-0 score.
GOODWILL HUNTING: With her two assists on the game-tying goals against both Eastern Washington and Idaho last week, Goodwill enters the regular season finale with 16 career helpers during her career in the green and gold, putting her just two shy of Paula Guarda (1994-97) for second on the school's all-time list. Leading the team in goals (four), assists (three), and points (11), this season, Goodwill is now just six assists shy of record-holder Katie McCoy, who collected 22 career assists from 2004-07.
ROAD WOES NO MORE: After winning just once in their previous 16 true road contests entering last weekend's trip to the Pacific Northwest, the Hornets finally got the monkey off their collective backs with wins at Eastern Washington and Idaho -- earning their first road victories of the season. Prior to the win over the Eagles, Sacramento State hadn't won a road contest since downing Idaho State in Pocatello on Oct. 17, 2021, and left EWU and Northern Colorado as the only Big Sky schools yet to post a road win in 2022.
DANNA AT THE DEATH: Danna Restom's goal with just 1:41 remaining on the clock at Idaho clinched a 2-1 victory for the Hornets over the Big Sky leaders -- the second goal in the final six minutes of the match for Sacramento State. It was the latest regulation goal scored by a Hornet since Julia Herrera scored with 1:23 remaining at Pacific on Feb. 13 of the pandemic delayed 2020-21 spring season.
NIN-OH YEAH!: When the Hornets' needed her most, senior Ariana Nino stepped up and delivered in her team's 2-1 victory at Idaho, Notching the game-tying goal (the 10th of her career) and assisting on Danna Restom's game-winner minutes later. It was Nino's first assist since helping against Saint Mary's on Feb. 11, 2001, and her first goal since scoring at Portland State on Oct. 13, 2019. It was also the Pleasanton, Calif., native's second career match with a goal and an assist -- her first since doing so against Idaho State in a 6-3 victory on Oct. 13, 2017.
WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL!: Restom, along with Nino and sophomore Lexi Rakela, became the fourth, fifth, and sixth different Hornets to find the back of the net this year, each netting their first goals of the season during the team's recent roadtrip. The goal for Rakela was extra special as the Sacramento native netted the first score of her career in the green and gold.
GAME-WINNER? DUNN DEAL: Apparently, all she does is win... no matter what. Jasmyne Dunn scored her fourth career goal in the second half at Eastern Washington, putting the Hornets ahead for good in a 2-1 victory. All four of her career scores have gone down as game-winners, joining her goals against Eastern Washington last year as well as Northern Colorado and Weber State this season. Tied for first in the Big Sky in game-winners entering the week, one of Dunn's three assists has also come on a game-winning goal against Idaho in 2021.
OUT EARLY...: But clutch lately. Entering last week's matches at Eastern Washington and Idaho having scored eight of their nine goals on the season in the first half, the Hornets came through late in wins over the Eagles and Vandals, scoring all four of their goals in the second 45. Prior to last week's outburst, only Abigail Lopez has dented the back of the net in the second half for Sacramento State this season, scoring in the 49th minute at Pacific on Aug. 21.
NO GOALS FOR YOU!: Since the start of conference play, junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit has been downright stingy, allowing just five goals past her and posting a 0.71 goals against average over her seven starts, making 30 saves to go with an .857 save percentage and three clean sheets. Her seven stops at Eastern Washington last weekend was her third-highest total of the season behind the 15 at Stanford and the 11 against Washington.
MINUTE WOMAN: Shalit has played all 1,440 minutes between the pipes for the Hornets this season -- the most by a Sacramento State keeper since Aaliyah Fesili went the distance for 1,861 minutes over 19 matches in 2019, which ranks tied for fourth on the school's single-season list. It's a single-season best for Shalit, who split time with Katie Price in 2021, appearing in 907 minutes over 10 contests for the Hornets.
A FULL 90: Continuing the theme, five Hornet field players have played a full 90 minutes a total of 28 times, led by Aubrey Goodwill's nine such contests (including each of her last six) and Lexi Rakela's eight. Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala (six), Madelyn Dougherty (three), Darian Louthan (two), and Erika Tilford (one), have also played all 90 minutes in a match this season, while Jasmyne Dunn has added a team-high six matches with at least 80 minutes played.
PKs ARE OK: The Hornets have done well to make opposing teams pay for fouls in the box this season as their four makes (in four attempts) from the penalty spot are tied for the second most in the NCAA as of Oct. 18, matching California and trailing only Santa Clara (5-for-5) for the top spot. Sacramento State is one of only 24 schools to make at least three on the year while, individually, Aubrey Goodwill and Abigail Lopez are tied for 21st in the nation with their spotless 2-for-2 showings from the spot.
RUN AWAY!: When you see sophomore Abigail Lopez near the penalty area, its best you stay away from her. The sophomore has been adept at getting the attention of the officials this year, drawing the foul either in or near the top of the box that has led to three of the Hornets' 13 goals this year (Pacific, UC Davis, and CSU Bakersfield). Jordan Goularte is responsible for a fourth after being taken down in the box by a UC Santa Barbara defender that led to Lopez's third goal of the season, Kalista Hardy drew another that resulted in a Aubrey Goodwill goal off a free kick against the Roadrunners, and Jasmyne Dunn drew the foul that allowed Goodwill to put home the penalty against Montana.
STOP! SHALIT TIME!: Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit continues to rank among the busiest keepers in the Big Sky entering the week, ranked third in the league in overall saves (80) and second in saves per match (5.00) through 16 contests thus far. Nationally, Shalit is also shining, ranked No. 10 in minutes played (1,440:00), No. 24 in total saves, and No. 50 in saves per match.
SHALIT SAVES: When it comes to facing nationally ranked opponents, junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit has risen to the occasion. After logging a career-high 15 saves in the regular season opener against then-No. 21 Stanford, Shalit nearly matched that performance on Sept. 15 against then-No. 22 Washington, making 11 stops in a contest that was a one-goal game until the final nine minutes. The performance was Shalit's third career double-digit save total as a Hornet when you include an 11-save effort at Saint Mary's in 2021.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A RECORD: Well, it was close. Shalit's 15-save performance against nationally ranked Stanford in the season opener ranked second on the school's single-match list, trailing only Dawn Anderson's 20 stops against Pacific in 1995, while the total was the highest by a Big Sky Conference goalkeeper since Southern Utah's Isabella Whitmore had 19 stops against UNLV on Nov. 3, 2019.
BE QUICK, BUT DON'T HURRY: Jasmyne Dunn's goal (and game-winner) against Northern Colorado was the fastest by a Hornet this season and the earliest that Sacramento State has scored since Kylee Kim-Bustillos scored just 64 seconds into a match against UC Davis on Aug. 23, 2019. Dunn's goal also marked the third time this season that the Hornets have scored in the first 10 minutes of the match, joining Abigail Lopez's score at Pacific (Aug. 21) and Aubrey Goodwill's goal at CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 18).
PRESEASON PICKS...: Sacramento State was picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference according to a vote of the league's head coaches released on Aug. 11, receiving 30 points to stand just ahead of Eastern Washington (26) and just behind Idaho (35). Reigning regular season champ Northern Colorado picked up six first-place votes and was picked atop the poll with 61 points, edging out tournament champ Montana, which was second with 54 points overall and a pair of first-place votes. Weber State received the final first-place vote and was third with 51 points followed by Northern Arizona (43) and the Vandals in the top five.
THE STUDENTS HAVE BECOME THE TEACHERS: A pair of Hornet alumnae will make their bench debuts as members of the coaching staff in 2022 as Jennifer Lum (Class of '17) and Danielle Davis (Class of '22) assume the roles of assistant and volunteer assistant coach, respectively. Complete details are available at HornetSports.com.
WHAT I DID LAST SUMMER...: Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit has herself quite an essay to write when it comes to sharing her summer after the Chula Vista, Calif., native spent most of her "time off" training and competing with the Peruvian Women's National Team. Called into camp in early June, Shalit was one of three goalkeepers to make the final cut and traveled with the team to Columbia for the 2022 CONMEBOL Women's Copa America Tournament where Peru faced off against Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, and defending champion Brazil. It's not the first international experience for Shalit, who has competed with Peru's various age-group national teams since 2015.
