SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's soccer team officially opens its 29th season this week with a pair of matches on the road, taking on No. 21 Stanford in the regular season opener on Thursday (Aug. 18), before making the short jaunt south to take on rival Pacific on Sunday (Aug. 21). Both matches are scheduled to kick-off at 7 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #1
WHAT: Sacramento State at No. 21 Stanford
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022
TIME: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Stanford, Calif.
STADIUM: Maloney Field
WATCH: Pac-12 Bay Area
LIVE STATS: http://www.stanfordstats.com/
NOTES: Complete Sacramento State Weekly Release
MATCH #2
WHAT: Sacramento State at Pacific
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022
TIME: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Stockton, Calif.
STADIUM: Knoles Field
WATCH: WCCSports.com
LIVE STATS: PacificTigers.com
IN THE POLLS...: Sacramento State is unranked to begin the 2022 season... Stanford is ranked No. 21 by the United Soccer Coaches poll... Pacific is unranked.
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!...: Thursday's regular season opener at Stanford will be streamed live on Pac-12 Bay Area and via the Cardinal's website at GoStanford.com. All Sacramento State home matches and those against Big Sky opponents will be streamed live via the ESPN+ platform.
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.
THE HORNETS, QUICKLY...: Sacramento State returns eight starters and 18 letter winners overall off of last season's squad that finished 5-12-2 overall and 3-6 in the Big Sky Conference, but reached the semifinals of the league tournament following a first-round upset of Northern Arizona as the No. 6 seed. Three of the team's top five scorers return, led by sophomore Abigail Lopez, a second-team All-Big Sky selectionwho paced the Hornets with 10 points on four goals and a pair of assists. First-team all-league honorees Jasmyne Dunn and Aubrey Goodwill, along with second-team selection Danna Restom, also return. In net, goalkeeper Mia Shalit is the incumbent after splitting time with the departed Katie Price, posting a 1.88 goals against average, 55 saves, and a .743 save percentage, in 10 starts.
SCOUTING STANFORD...: The Cardinal, who has claimed a pair of NCAA titles in the last five years, are coming off a 2021 campaign that saw them finish 13-6-1 overall and 7-3-1 in the Pac-12 Conference before falling to Bay Area rival Santa Clara in the first round... Stanford is the preseason Pac-12 favorite... The Cardinal return three of their top four scorers from last season, led by senior Maya Doms, who scored 11 goals and led the team with 25 points last season... Junior Ryan Campbell is the incumbent in net after appearing in five matches and making two saves in just under 153 minutes.
SERIES NOTES...: Stanford leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 5-0 count -- with all five contests played on the Cardinal's home field... Thursday marks the first meeting between the two programs since the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament (a 3-0 Stanford victory) as each of the last two meetings between the programs have come in the postseason (2007 was the other)... Stanford leads the all-time scoring in the series, 24-1.
SCOUTING PACIFIC...: The Tigers are coming off a 2021 season that saw them finish 10-6-3 overall and 2-5-2 in the West Coast Conference, finishing eighth... Pacific was picked to finish eighth according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches... The Tigers are led by seniors Hunter More and Jaida Nyby, who shared the team lead with 10 points apiece last season... More led the team with four goals, while Nyby ended the year with a team-best four assists... Senior goalkeeper Brenna Crump returns after starting 18 matches a season ago, finishing the year with a 1.06 goals against average, 85 saves, and an .810 save percentage, posting a shutout in eight of her 18 decisions.
SERIES NOTES...: Pacific leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 15-4-5 count and are unbeaten in the last two meeting following a 4-0 victory last fall... The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2019 when they posted a 2-0 victory at home... The Tigers are 9-2-1 in the series when playing in Stockton, going unbeaten in the last three (2-0-1)... Sacramento State's last win on the road against Pacific came in 2013 thanks to a 2-1 victory.
CONFERENCE CALL...: Sacramento State has faced nine of the current 12 members of the Pac-12, having faced all but UCLA, Colorado, and Washington (which the Hornets will face on Sept. 15 at home)... Sacramento State is a combined 7-16-2 against the Pac-12, with three of those seven wins coming against Oregon State... The Hornets have faced six of the 10 members of the West Coast Conference, posting a 13-41-7 mark against the league... Sacramento State has faced all but BYU, Portland, San Diego, and Santa Clara in the WCC since the program's inception.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD...: Following this week's matches, Sacramento State returns to Hornet Field for its 2022 home opener, welcoming UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 25 to kick-off a three-match homestand that features contests against Cal Poly (Aug. 28) and rival UC Davis (Sept. 1).
FOR OPENERS...: Sacramento State is a combined 9-18-1 overall in season lid lifters, playing away from home for the fifth time in the last six seasons... This year marks the first time that the Hornets will open a season against Stanford and the second time they will open against a Pac-12 school dating all the way back to the program's inaugural season in 1994 when they defeated Arizona, 3-1, in the program's first-ever match... Sacramento State has lost three of its last four openers, falling last year to Saint Mary's, 2-0, after defeating the Gaels, 2-1, in double overtime in a delayed 2020 opener that was pushed to the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic... The Hornets are 2-7-1 overall when opening the season on the road, losing their last two dating back to a 2-1 win at Saint Mary's in 2017... Sacramento State has had five openers go to overtime.
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.
A LOOK BACK...: Sacramento State wrapped up its exhibition season with a pair of defeats, falling to San Jose State on the road, 2-1, and Saint Mary's, 3-0, at home last week. Newcomer Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala scored the Hornets' lone goal off a feed from Aubrey Goodwil in the 27th minute against the Spartans.
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.
