SACRAMENTO -- A three-match homestand against Big West Conference opponents comes to an end at Hornet Soccer Field this week in true rivalry fashion as cross-Causeway foe UC Davis makes the short jaunt to Sacramento to take on the Hornets, before Sacramento State heads up Interstate 80 to face Nevada in a toad contest. The Hornets and Aggies kick-off on Thursday (Sept. 1) at 4 p.m., before a Sunday (Sept. 4) meeting in Reno against the Wolf Pack at 6:30 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #5
WHAT: UC Davis (2-2) at Sacramento State (0-3-1)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022
TIME: 1 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 #6
WHAT: Sacramento State (0-3-1) at Nevada (0-2-1)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Reno, Nev.
STADIUM: Mackay Stadium
WATCH: None
LIVE STATS: NevadaWolfPack.com
TICKETS: NevadaWolfPack.com
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Please note the kick-off time changes for both of this week's matches due to the extreme heat conditions in the forcast: Thursday's match against UC Davis has been moved to 1 p.m. from the previously published start time of 4 p.m., while Sunday's kick in Reno is now 6:30 p.m., instead of the previously advertised 1 p.m. against Nevada.
IN THE POLLS: Sacramento State, UC Davis, and Nevada, 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!: Thursday's clash with UC Davis 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.
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 DAVIS: The Aggies are 2-2 overall on the year, following up a stunning upset of then-No. 5 Santa Clara with losses to Pacific (1-0) and San Francisco (2-0) last week at home... Molly Branigan, Leslie Fregoso, and Risa Yamada, have all scored for UC Davis, while Branigan and Fregoso have added assists for a team-high three points apiece... Washington transfer Caeley Goldstein has played all 360 minutes in net, posting a 0.75 goals against average and 18 saves (.857 save percentage) to go with two shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series by a 14-5-3 count, including winning each of the last three head-to-head contests... Sacramento State's last win in the series came on Sept. 11, 2017, with a 1-0 clean sheet on the road in Davis... Three of the last four meetings have been played across the Causeway in Davis, with the last meeting in Sacramento coming on Aug. 26, 2018 -- a 2-1 UC Davis victory... The Hornets are 3-7-2 against the Aggies at home, including an 0-4-2 mark in the last six at Hornet Soccer Field dating back to a 2-1 win on Sept. 3, 2006.
SCOUTING NEVADA: The Wolf Pack are 0-2-1 to start the year and are coming off a draw (1-1) and a loss (1-0) on the road at a pair of BIg Sky Conference opponents in Eastern Washington and Idaho, respectively, last week... Jasmine Navarro, Eva Wees, and Emily Rich, have accounted for all three of Nevada's scores this year, with Navarro and Wees adding assists for a team-high three points... Goalkeeper Kendal Stovall has played all 270 minutes for the Wolf Pack, posting a 1.67 goals against average and seven saves (.583 save percentage).
SERIES NOTES: The Wolf Pack leads the all-time series with the Hornets, 10-8-1, but the Hornets have won each of the last three meetings -- including a 3-0 shutout last year at home... Nevada hasn't won a match in the series since a 3-2 double overtime triumph in 2017 in Reno -- the last in a run of five straight victories for the Wolf Pack... Sacramento State is just 1-6-1 on the road against Nevada, losing its last five trips to Reno dating back to a 3-3 draw in 2007... The Hornets' only win at Nevada was a 2-1 double overtime decision in 2003... Nine of the last 11 meetings between the two programs have been decided by one goal.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State has faced all but one school in the current Big West Conference women's soccer alignment, missing only league newcomer UC San Diego... The Hornets are 25-49-9 all-time against Big West foes, with eight of those wins coming against CSU Bakersfield... Sacramento State is 0-4-2 in its last six against Big West schools dating back to a 2-0 win at Bakersfield in 2019… The Hornets are 31-39-10 against the current Mountain West Conference women's soccer alignment, having faced all but two of the league's 12 members (Colorado State and New Mexico), with 11 of those wins coming against San Jose State… Sacramento State is 4-0-2 in its last six against the league dating back to a 2-1 loss at UNLV on Aug. 19, 2018.
AND A LOPEZ SHALL LEAD THEM: Sophomore Abigail Lopez has embraced the role that comes with wearing the No. 10 jersey in 2022, accounting for all three of the Hornets' scores thus far this season, including her third goal in as many matches in Sacramento State's 1-1 draw with UC Santa Barbara last week. Entering the week, Lopez co-leads the Big Sky Conference in points (six), goals (three), and goals per game (0.75), alongside Portland State's Abi Hoffman, while standing tied for second in points per match (1.50) through four contests. Lopez's three goals this year are just one shy of her freshman year total when she led the team with four goals and 10 points overall.
PKs ARE OK: Taking a page out of teammate Aubrey Goodwill's book, each of Lopez's last two goals have come from the penalty spot, converting against both Pacific and UC Santa Barbara in her first two collegiate attempts. Goodwill holds the school's career record with five penalty kick goals, while Lopez now stands tied for second along with Katie McCoy (2004-07) and Rebecca Phillips (2004-05, 2006-07).
SAVING THE DAY: Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit continues to add to her "save"-ings account this season as her 29 stops between the pipes and her 7.25 saves per game each lead the Big Sky Conference as of Aug. 29 and rank No. 3 and No. 10 in the NCAA entering the week. She also stands No. 4 in the league with a .725 save percentage and is one of three conference keepers with at least 10 saves in a match this year.
MAMA MIA!!!: Off to a busy start to the 2022 campaign, Shalit had quite a night against No. 21 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. Nationally, as of Aug. 29, Shalit's 15 saves are the third-highest single-match total in the NCAA, trailing only CSUN's Taylor Thames (16 vs. UCLA) and Saint Peter's Olivia Mackethan (16 vs. Maine).
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 the spot all by her lonesome with her 14th career assist at Pacific on 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.
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.
