SACRAMENTO -- After closing out the first weekend of the regular season with a victory, Sacramento State opens a run of four straight against West Coast Conference foes this week, traveling to Saint Mary's on Thursday (Sept. 1) before hosting Pacific on Sunday (Sept. 4) -- the latter the start of a three-match homestand. Kick-off against the Gaels is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Moraga, Calif., while the Hornets and Tigers will tussle in front of the hometown faithful at Hornet Soccer Field at Noon on Sunday.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #3
WHAT: Sacramento State (1-1) at Saint Mary's (1-1)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022
TIME: 4 p.m.
WHERE: Moraga, Calif.
STADIUM: Saint Mary's Stadium
WATCH: WCCSports.com
LIVE STATS: SMCGaels.com
GAME NOTES: Complete Sacramento State Weekly Release
MATCH #4
WHAT: Pacific (1-1) at Sacramento State (1-1)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022
TIME: Noon
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Please note the kick-off time change for Sunday's match against Pacific to Noon from the previously published start time of 1 p.m. due to extreme heat conditions forecast for the area that day.
IN THE POLLS: Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, and Pacific, are all unranked according to the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, but the Gaels (No. 6) and Tigers (No. 7) are ranked among the top 10 according to the organization's West Region polls this week.
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!: Thursday's match at Saint Mary's will be streamed live via the WCC Network platform at wccsports.com, while Sunday's clash with Pacific 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.
THE HORNETS, QUICKLY: Sacramento State is coming off a season that saw the Hornets battle for a Big West Tournament berth right up until the final match of the 2021 regular season, finishing 5-10-3 overall and 3-4-2 in league play. This is a veteran group that returns 18 letter winners and nine starters off of last year's squad, bolstered by a nine-member incoming class that includes a trio of Division I transfers from the likes of Santa Clara, UCLA, and San Diego State. All-Big West Conference honorable mention selections Titus Washington and Jaime Robles, along with all-freshman team honoree Jhared Willcot, rejoin the ranks as Sacramento State brings back its top four scorers from a season ago, including leading scorer sophomore Michael Gonzalez who paced the team with four goals and nine points in 2021.
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 SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels enter the week with a 1-1 overall record after defeating Niagara (3-2) and falling to Northern Illinois (2-1) to officially open the season at home last week... Four different players have accounted for the team's four goals, while Christian Engmann has tallied a pair of assists... Goalkeeper Kash Oladapo has played all 180 minutes thus far, posting a 2.00 goals against average and six saves (.600 save percentage) through two matches thus far.
SERIES NOTES: Saint Mary's leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 14-6-8 count dating back to 1991... The Gaels are unbeaten in the last five meetings (5-0-1) with the Hornets, including victories in each of the last four head-to-head clashes -- all by the shutout... Sacramento State's last win in the series -- and its last win in Moraga -- came in 2015 by a 2-0 score, while its last goal in the series came in a 1-1 draw in 2016 at home... The Hornets are 3-7-4 on the road against the Gaels, losing their last two trips to Moraga.
SCOUTING PACIFIC: The Tigers are 1-1 overall against a pair of Big West Conference teams to start the season, falling to UC San Diego (3-1) before defeating CSU Bakersfield (4-2) at home... Pacific will host another Big West school in CSUN on Thursday (Sept. 1) before heading to Sacramento... Senior midfielder Ryan Her has accounted for three of the team's five scores this year on seven shots, while senior Derick Roque has posted a team-high three assists... Goalkeeper Eric Cotton has played all 180 minutes in net, posting a 2.50 goals against average and six saves (.545 save percentage) through two matches thus far.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Pacific by a 3-2-2 count dating back to 1992, but the series is even at 2-2-2 since the Tigers restarted their program in 2014... The Hornets are unbeaten in their last three against Pacific (1-0-2), including a 2-0 win on the road in Stockton, Calif., last season... All but one of the seven meetings since 1992 have ended in a shutout -- a 1-1 draw in 2019 in Sacramento... The Hornets are 2-1-1 at home against Pacific, but haven't won at home since a 1-0 triumph in 2015.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State owns a 35-57-17 record against the eight current men's soccer-playing members of the West Coast Conference... The Hornets are 1-6-1 in their last eight against the WCC with the only win in that stretch coming against Pacific last season... Ten of the team's 35 wins against the WCC have come against LMU, which the Hornets face on Sept. 8 at home.
HOME, SWEET HOME: With Sunday's win over San Jose State, the Hornets carry a three-match winning streak dating back to last season into this Sunday's clash against Pacific, finishing out the 2021 campaign with victories over Big West Conference rivals UC San Diego (2-1) and Cal State Fullerton (3-1).
QUICK LIKE A HORNET: When Sacramento State found the back of the net in the seventh minute (6:46 to be exact) of its win over San Jose State, it marked the quickest goal scored by the Hornets since Matt Carnefix scored just 4:23 into a 2-1 win over San Diego on Sept. 15, 2019.
NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE...: The next time that the San Jose State defense sees Dominic Vegaalban, it will be too soon. The sophomore newcomer to the Hornet roster unleashed a barrage of seven shots (three on frame) against the Spartans in Sunday's win -- the most in a single match by a Sacramento State player in nearly nine years dating back to Edwin Luna's eight attempts in a 1-1 draw with San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2013.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: After some confusion on the team's first goal against San Jose State, video review has changed the goal scorer to Jaime Robles, whose attempt deflected off a Spartan defender and past a screened goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. The score is Robles' third of his career and his first since scoring against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 19, 2019.
WHO WANTS IT?: Despite some turnover in the roster from 2021 to this season, 10 different players have accounted for the team's last 10 goals dating back to the final seven contests of last year and the first two of 2022. Vegaalban and Robles became the latest names added to the list, as Zack Mason (CSUN), Genaro Alfaro (CSUN), Francisco Magana (UC San Diego), Titus Washington (UC San Diego), Michael Gonzalez (Cal State Fullerton), Alejandro Alcantara (Cal State Fullerton), Eloga Iradukunda (Cal State Fullerton), and Christo Cervantes (UC Davis), preceeded both Robles and Vegaalban in finding the back of the net during the current run.
WELCOME HOME, MAX!: The Sacramento State men's soccer team completed its coaching staff for 2022 by welcoming home one of its own, adding former Hornet standout Max Alvarez to the staff. Alvarez was a four-year letter winner for Sacramento State from 2009-12, helping his team to a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles and two trips to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He scored 20 career goals and assisted on 13 others before joining the professional ranks, playing for Tucson FC, Sacramento Republic FC, and Saint Louis FC, with a stop in San Jose to play for the Earthquakes on loan in 2016.
