SACRAMENTO -- A run of three straight matches against Big West Conference opponents -- all at home -- begins this week against the league's Central Coast contingent as the Sacramento State women's soccer team welcomes UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly to Hornet Soccer Field. The Gauchos and Hornets kick-off on Thursday (Aug. 25) at 4 p.m., before Sac State does battle with the Mustangs on Sunday (Aug. 28) at 1 p.m., in the first match of a doubleheader with the men's team.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #3
WHAT: UC Santa Barbara (0-2) at Sacramento State (0-2)
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022
TIME: 4 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
GAME NOTES: Complete Sacramento State Weekly Release
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #4
WHAT: Cal Poly (0-2) at Sacramento State (0-2)
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
IN THE POLLS: Sacramento State, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal Poly, are all unranked 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!: Both of this week's home contests will be streamed live on the ESPN+ subscription platform. Links to watch and for live stats 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.
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 UC SANTA BARBARA: The Gauchos enter the week with an 0-2 record after falling at home to Colorado College (2-1) and at Saint Mary's (1-0)... UCSB was picked to finish sixth in the Big West Conference according to the coaches' preseason poll... Sophomore Meg Burling has collected the Gauchos' lone goal on the year off an assist by Emma Corcoran... Senior Evann Smith and sophomore Taylor Little have split time in net thus far with Smith posting a team-high three saves.
SERIES NOTES: UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 7-2-1 count, having won the last four meetings -- and each of the last two in overtime, including a 2-1 win on the Central Coast last season... Thursday marks the first meeting in Sacramento between the two programs since 2014... The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2009 by a 1-0 score at home, where Sacramento State is 1-3 against the Gauchos in the series.
SCOUTING CAL POLY: The Mustangs are 0-2 to start the season following season-opening losses at Saint Mary's (3-1) and at home against Iowa (1-0)... Cal Poly, picked to finish tied for second in the Big West preseason poll, travels to Minnesota on Thursday (Aug. 25) before heading to Sacramento... Senior midfielder Camille Lafaix has scored the lone Mustang goal -- after scoring eight last season -- off an assist by Emily Lieber... Goalkeepers Mary Norman and Mackenzie Samuel have split time in net, with Samuel posting a team-high eight saves, while Norman has surrendered only one goal.
SERIES NOTES: Cal Poly leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 7-2 count following a 4-2 Mustang win over the Hornets last year in San Luis Obispo... Sacramento State's last win in the series came in 2019 by a 2-1 score in overtime -- its first since 2016... The Hornets are 2-2 against Cal Poly at home.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State has faced all but one school in the current Big West women's soccer alignment, missing only league newcomer UC San Diego... The Hornets are 25-48-8 all-time against Big West foes, with eight of those wins coming against CSU Bakersfield... Sacramento State is 0-3-1 in its last four against Big West schools dating back to a 2-0 win at Bakersfield in 2019... This week marks the first home matches against a Big West school since 2019 when Cal Poly paid a visit and left with a 3-1 defeat.
MAMA MIA!!!: Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit had quite a night against nationally ranked Stanford in the Hornets' season opener, finishing with a career-high 15 saves -- including 10 of those in the second half -- while facing 37 shots by the Cardinal. It marked Shalit's second career double-digit save performance in the green and gold after stopping 11 shots against Saint Mary's in the 2021 season opener.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A RECORD: Well, it was close. Shalit's 15-save performance 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.
BRACE YOURSELF: Sophomore Abigail Lopez collected her first career multi-goal match in the Hornets' battle at Pacific on Sunday (Aug. 21), scoring a goal in each half for her team's first two goals of the season. She is one of only two Big Sky players to collect two goals in a match thus far this season (Portland State's Abi Hoffman against Western Oregon is the other). The scores were Lopez's first since she drilled the game-winner against Idaho State on Oct. 17 of last season and the first multi-goal performance by a Hornet since Aubrey Goodwill had a pair against Portland State on April 11, 2021, during the pandemic delayed 2020 season.
GOODWILL HUNTING: Entering the season ranked tied for third on the school's all-time list with 13 career assists, senior Aubrey Goodwill broke a three-way tie and grabbed hold of third all by her lonesome with her 14th career assist at Pacific on Sunday (Aug. 21). The 14 career helpers (to go along with six career goals -- five of those from the penalty spot) put Goodwill just eight back of record-holder Katie McCoy, who collected 22 career assists from 2004-07.
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.
FOR OPENERS... THE HOME EDITION: Sacramento State is a combined 11-15-2 in home openers dating back to 1994... The Hornets are unbeaten (2-0-1) in their last three home openers with wins over Cal Poly and Saint Mary's, as well as a draw with CSU Bakersfield, in that stretch... In its last six home openers, Sacramento State is 4-1-1 dating back to the 2016 season... Three of the team's last five home openers have ended in overtime -- something that will be missing in 2022 after the NCAA rules committee eliminated extra time during regular season competition.
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.
