SACRAMENTO -- Gaining points in the Big Sky standings in each of its last two matches, the Sacramento State women's soccer team looks to close out its 2022 home schedule in a winning fashion as the Hornets host their final two matches of the regular season this weekend. Sacramento State welcomes Weber State on Friday (Oct. 7) for a 3:30 p.m. kick-off, before Idaho State comes to town on "Senior Day" Sunday (Oct. 9) at 1 p.m.
MATCH #13
WHAT: Weber State (2-9, 1-2 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (1-7-4, 1-1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 7, 2022
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: Buy Tickets
MATCH #14
WHAT: Idaho State (1-8-2, 0-3 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (1-7-4, 1-1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: Buy Tickets
IN THE POLLS: Neither Sacramento State, Weber State, nor Idaho State, are ranked nationally entering this week's contests.
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 matches 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.
SCOUTING WEBER STATE: The Wildcats enter the week with a 2-9 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big Sky play after splitting matches at Eastern Washington (L, 3-1) and at home against Northern Arizona (W, 1-0) last week... The win over the Lumberjacks snapped a five-match skid for Weber State dating back to a win over UC Riverside on Sept. 4... The Wildcats are 1-6 away from home this season, losing their last three... Six different players have accounted for Weber State's goals this season as the Wildcats have been outscored 22-6 this year... Senior goalkeeper Makell Moss has seen the majority of minutes in net, posting a 2.25 goals against average and 34 saves.
SERIES NOTES: Weber State holds a 15-9-4 lead in the overall series with Sacramento State, but the Hornets lead the series 6-4-2 in matches played at home... The Wildcats are unbeaten in the last four meetings with the Hornets, posting a 2-0-2 mark in that stretch following a 3-0 win in Ogden, Utah, last year... Three of the last four meetings have been played in Utah, with the last match played in Sacramento coming in 2018 (a 1-0 Weber State win)... Sacramento State's last win in the series came on Oct. 21, 2016, in a 1-0 victory at home... The Hornets have won two of the last three meetings on their home field.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: The Bengals enter the week with a 1-8-2 overall record and an 0-3 mark in Big Sky play, dropping a 1-0 decision at home to Northern Arizona in their only match last week... Idaho State travels to Portland State on Friday (Oct. 7) before making the trip to Northern California... The Bengals have lost their last seven straight, the last six of those by shutout, and five of those six by 1-0 scores... Sophomores Deborah Pond and Gabby Warta have accounted for two of the team's three scores with an own goal mixed in... Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Jargstorf has played the majority of minutes in net, posting a 1.24 goals against average and 36 saves (.818 save percentage).
SERIES NOTES: Idaho State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 12-8-4 count, but the Hornets are unbeaten in the last six meetings with the Bengals, posting a 5-0-1 record in that stretch... Sunday's match is the first between the two in Sacramento since the 2018 season, when Sacramento State posted a 3-0 win... The Hornets are 5-6-1 at home against Idaho State in the series, winning the last three meetings... Six of the last nine meetings have been decided by one goal.
BIG SKY BIG PICTURE: After two weekends of league play, the Hornets enter the week in a tie for fourth place in the Big Sky table with four points, tied with Montana, which owns a tie-breaking 2-1 win over Sacramento State on Sept. 23. Everyone is chasing Idaho, which leads the conference with an unblemished 4-0 league mark and a 9-1-2 overall record. The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the Big Sky Tournament on Nov. 2-6, hosted by Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye.
DRAW!: Last weekend's scoreless draw at Portland State was the first for the Hornets since they battled Eastern Washington to a pair of goal-less results during the pandemic-delayed spring 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, the four ties the most since that spring season when Sacramento State finished 3-4-4 against an abbreviated schedule. The single-season school record for draws is six, set by the 2019 squad that finished 11-2-6 overall.
MY HERO ZERO: The scoreless draw against the Vikings marked the Hornets' second straight shutout when you combine that with the 1-0 win over Northern Colorado back on Sept. 25. It marked the first back-to-back shutouts for Sacramento State since those two scoreless draws with Eastern Washington in 2020-21, while a clean sheet on Friday against Weber State would mark the first time that the Hornets have shutout at least three consecutive opponents since they did so in four-straight matches from Oct. 18-27, 2019.
OUT EARLY: The Hornets have done most of their scoring damage in the first 45 minutes this season, scoring seven of their eight goals in the first half. 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.
MINUTE WOMAN: Goalkeeper Mia Shalit has played all 1,080 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 -- a total that 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 24 times, led by Lexi Rakela's eight matches going the distance and seven more by Aubrey Goodwill -- both of whom have gone wire-to-wire in each of their last four matches. Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala (four), Madelyn Dougherty (three), and Darian Louthan (two), have also played all 90 minutes in a match this season, while Dougherty has added a team-high four other matches with at least 80 minutes played.
NO GOALS FOR YOU!: Since the start of conference play, Mia Shalit has been downright stingy, allowing just two goals past her and posting a 0.67 goals against average over three matches, making 10 saves to go with an .833 save percentage.
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 the most in the NCAA as of Oct. 4, and Sacramento State is one of only 17 schools to make at least three on the year. Individually, Aubrey Goodwill and Abigail Lopez are tied for 15th in the nation with their spotless 2-for-2 showings from the spot, just one off the national lead shared by 14 other players who are 3-for-3 on the season.
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT: After going all season without breaking double digits in the shot column, the Hornets unleashed a season-high 17 shot attempts in their win over Northern Colorado and added 12 more last weekend against Portland State. It marked the first time that Sacramento State has attempted 10-or-more shots in back-to-back contests since its run through last season's Big Sky Tournament against Northern Arizona (10) and Montana (12). The 17 attempts against the Bears were the most for the team since the Hornets finished with the same number against Northern Arizona on Oct. 22 of last season.
HORNETS' 1-2 PUNCH: Abigail Lopez and Aubrey Goodwill enter the week ranked among the top 10 in the Big Sky in a number of categories. Goodwill stands tied for sixth in the league in points (9), tied for sixth in points per match (0.75), tied for third in goals (4), and tied for fourth in goals per game (0.33). Meanwhile, Lopez enters the week tied for 10th in points (7), tied for ninth in points per match (0.64), tied for sixth in goals (3), and tied for eighth in goals per match (0.27).
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).
RUN AWAY!: When you see 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' eight 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 Goodwill goal off a free kick against the Roadrunners, and 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 (60) and second in saves per match (5.00) through 12 contests thus far. Nationally, Shalit is also shining, ranked No. 38 in minutes played (1080:00), No. 27 in total saves, and No. 48 in saves per match.
GOODWILL HUNTING: Entering the season ranked tied for third on the school's all-time list with 13 career assists, Goodwill broke a three-way tie and grabbed hold of the spot all by her lonesome with her 14th career assist at Pacific on Aug. 21. The 14 career helpers (to go along with 10 career goals -- seven of those from the penalty spot) put Goodwill just eight helpers back of record-holder Katie McCoy, who collected 22 career assists from 2004-07.
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.
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.
