SACRAMENTO -- It all comes down to the final match of the regular season as the Sacramento State men's soccer team closes in on a Big West Conference Tournament berth. The Hornets, needing at least a point to guarantee a spot in the tournament, takes on Causeway rival UC Davis on Saturday (Oct. 29) at 3 p.m. at Hornet Soccer Field on campus. Prior to kick-off, the Sacramento State senior class will be honored as part of "Senior Day" festivites at approximately 2:45 p.m.
MATCH #18
WHAT: UC Davis (4-8-4, 3-3-2 Big West) at Sacramento State (9-6-2, 4-4 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 29, 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: Neither Sacramento State, nor UC Davis, are ranked nationally entering this week's finale. Following a one-week absence, the Hornets jumped back into the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region rankings at No. 7 following a pair of shutouts last week, joining three other Big West teams in the top 10.
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 at Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton 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.
ALFARO, GUERRA NAB BIG WEST HONORS: Junior Genaro Alfaro was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Edgar Guerra picked up his second Big West Goalkeeper of the Year honor of the season the league office announced on Oct. 24. Alfaro won his first career award and became the first Hornet conference defensive player of the week since 2016, while Guerra added his second career top freshman. More details available 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 DAVIS: The Aggies enter the final match of the regular season with a 4-8-4 overall record and a 3-3-2 mark in Big West play, sitting one point of out of a conference tournament spot with 11 points... UC Davis is winless in its last three dating back to a 2-1 win vs. CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 12, falling at UC Santa Barbara (3-0) and at home against UC San Diego (1-0) last week... The Aggies haven't scored a goal in their last 316 minutes dating back to a late first-half strike against the Roadrunners, as they have been shut out in their last three matches... Three different UC Davis players have scored three goals on the year, one of which is freshman Cason Goodman, who shares the team lead with five points with teammate Max Glasser, who has three assists... Goalkeeper Charles Janssen has played the majority of minutes, posting a 1.00 goals against average and 36 saves to go with five shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 19-9-2, with the Aggies winning the last seven consecutive meetings dating back to a 2-1 Hornet win on the road in 2016... UC Davis has won the last four played in Sacramento, holding an 11-4-1 advantage in matches played on the Hornets' home field... Sacramento State's last win in the series at home came in 2015 (1-0)... Each of the last five meetings have been decided by a single goal.
NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT WINS: Sacramento State's wins at Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton gave the Hornets nine overall for the season and four in Big West play heading into this week's regular season finale. The nine wins are the most since the 2016 team finished 9-8-3 overall, while the four conference triumphs are the most since the 2017 squad ended the year with a 4-4-2 mark. One more win this season would give the Hornets double-digit victories for the first time since winning 11 matches in 2010, while a fifth home win would be the most since the 2016 team finished 6-3-1 at Hornet Soccer Field.
NOT HALF BAD: The three goals in the first half against Cal Poly was the second three-goal half of the season, joining the Hornets' three scores in the second half of a 4-1 win at Saint Mary's on Sept. 1, while it was the first three-goal first half for Sacramento State since a 3-2 win over then-No. 15 Utah Valley on Sept. 22, 2016.
ONE!: Sophomore Bryan Gutierrez became the 11th different Hornet to find the back of the net this season as his header with 14 seconds remaining in regulation was not only his first career goal, but the game-winning strike to beat Cal State Fullerton on the road.
TWO!: Thanks to Edgar Guerra and the rest of the back line, the Hornets posted their third and fourth shutouts of the season and the first back-to-back clean sheets since wins over Pacific (1-0) and Saint Mary's (2-0) on Sept. 18 & 27, 2015.
THREE!: Keeping it going. After dropping four straight Big West contests, the Hornets have their groove back, extending their winning streak to three after last week's contests. It is the second three-match winning streak of the season for Sacramento State and the first time that the Hornets have won at least three straight Big West contests since taking four in a row from Sept. 28 to Oct. 7 during the 2012 season.
FOUR!: Since making his return to the lineup from injury on Oct. 8 at UC Irvine, sophomore Dominic Vegaalban has been rounding back into form at the right time for the Hornets, opening last week's run on the Central Coast with a four-point night at Cal Poly in a 4-0 win. Vegaalban had a hand... errr, foot... in each of the team's first three goals, assisting on each of the first two scores by Francisco Magana and Austin Wehner before scoring one of his own from the penalty spot to help stake Sacramento State to a 3-0 halftime lead. The four points were a Hornet career high, while the two assists made him the first Sacramento State player to do so in a single match since Tyler Moss against UC San Diego last season.
FIVE!: Sense a theme? When Francisco Magana found the back of the net in the ninth minute at Cal Poly for the eventual game-winner, the junior from Washington collected his fifth goal of the season -- his first score since netting a hat trick against Gonzaga on Sept. 11 and the most in a single season since Benji Kikanovic and Dominic Scotti had five in 2018.
SIX!: Guerra's two victories this past week improved the Santa Rosa, Calif., native to 6-1-1 in net this year -- the most wins by a Hornet goalkeeper since James Del Curto won eight matches in 2017.
TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK: Bryan Gutierrez's goal with 14 seconds remaining in the match marked the seventh time since 2010 that a Hornet has scored in the final minute of the match and it was the latest of those seven goals, surpassing a goal scored by Chris Bettencourt with 18 seconds remaining at Stanford on Sept. 12, 2010.
GOING TO WAR WITH GUERRA: Capping his third straight victory in net with a win at Fullerton, Guerra finished the night with a career-high nine saves against the Titans -- the most by a Hornet keeper since Ryan Curtis stopped 10 shots in a 2-0 shutout of San Jose State to open the 2019 campaign.
HE'S A HELPER TOO: Spending most of his time on the field turning opponents away at one end of the field, Guerra took some time out of his busy schedule to help the offense out as well, credited with an assist on Francisco Magana's eventual game-winner against Cal Poly. It was the first assist by a Hornet keeper since Cesar Castillo assisted on Chris Bettencourt's game-winner against Seattle U on Oct. 15, 2010.
MY HERO, ZERO: Sacramento State's 4-0 shutout of Cal Poly was the program's largest shutout victory since an 11-0 win over William Jessup in 2011, and the largest shutout win over a Division I opponent since an 8-0 clean sheet against Loyola Marymount in 1993.
MAKING THEIR POINTS: Magana's 12 points (five goals, two assists) are the most in a season by a Hornet since Oscar Govea finished with 12 (four goals, four assists) in 2019. Magana, Vegaalban (11 points), and Austin Wehner (11 points) have all reached double-digit points this season, giving Sacramento State three-or-more players with at least 10 points for the first time since 2017 when Justin Bedig (13 points), Christian Webb (13 points), and Matt Carnefix (10 points) accomplished the feat. Genaro Alfaro stands just outside that group with nine points this year and, with one more, would give the Hornets a quartet of double-digit point scorers for the first time since 2012: Isaac Ikyurav (14), Gabe Silveira (13), Chris Sandoval (10), and Max Alvarez (10).
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Seven different Hornets have accounted for the game-winning scores in the team's nine victories this season: Dominic Vegaalban (San Jose State), Austin Wehner (Saint Mary's and UC Riverside), Christo Cervantes (LMU), Francisco Magana (Gonzaga and Cal Poly), Jaime Robles (Utah Tech), Cody Sundquist (CSU Bakersfield), and Bryan Gutierrez (Cal State Fullerton), while Vegaalban (twice), Wehner, Genaro Alfaro (twice), Alejandro Padilla, and Edgar Guerra have tallied game-winning assists. Dating back to last year, Sacramento State's last 11 game-winners have been scored by nine different players when you add Titus Washington's winner versus UC San Diego and Alejandro Alcantra's score against Cal State Fullerton in 2021.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Since the start of Big West Conference play, junior Austin Wehner has done his fair share in helping power the Hornets' offense, collecting eight points (three goals and two assists) in four of the team's eight league matches for Sacramento State. His eight points in conference play rank third in the Big West, while his three goals against league rivals are tied for second.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: Sacramento State has had 11 different players score goals this season -- the second-highest total among Big West schools behind only Cal State Fullerton (15) entering the week -- while eight different Hornets have found the back of the net multiple times to share the league lead in that category with the Titans.
FIRST!: The Hornets have gotten off to a strong start by scoring first in 10 of their 17 matches thus far this season -- and 12 of their last 19 dating back to last year -- posting an 8-1-1 record in those contests in 2022 after suffering their first such loss at UC San Diego on Oct. 5. The 10 "first goals" this season are second in the Big West, trailing only UC Riverside's 13.
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 14 times in the team's 17 contests this season -- including 12 of the last 13 -- and has played 80-or-more minutes in two other contests. His 1,499 minutes played are the most of any Hornet (field players or goalkeepers) this season -- joining Alejandro Padilla (1,398), Cody Sundquist (1,319), Ali Sasankhah (1,298), Austin Wehner (1,186), and Jaime Robles (1,162) above the 1,000-minute mark -- and are the fourth most in the Big West this season behind a trio of UC San Diego players led by Jake Serpa and his 1,526 minutes.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS... EVERYBODY!: Francisco Magana's hat trick against Gonzaga on Sept. 11 -- the first by a Big West player since UC Davis' Maximilian Arfsten did so against San Francisco on Sept. 22 last year -- came on seven total shots in the match with six of those on frame as the junior continuously threatened to put more in the back of the net. The seven attempts matched Dominic Vegaalban's seven shots against San Jose State on Aug. 28 for the most by a Hornet this year and the most for a Sacramento State player in nine years dating back to Edwin Luna's eight in a 1-1 draw with San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2013. The Hornets tied their season high with 20 shots as a team at CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 28 -- matching the 20 against Gonzaga and the most since it took 20 against CSUN on Oct. 6 of last season -- while Magana's six shots on goal against Gonzaga were the most since Isaac Flores finished with seven (of his 12 overall) against William Jessup on Sept. 9, 2011.
