Complete Weekly Release: Sacramento State Game Notes
SACRAMENTO -- Something's gotta give at Hornet Soccer Field this week as a pair of programs on a roll to start 2022 take the field in Sacramento. Non-conference play comes to a close as San Francisco pays a visit to Sacramento State on Thursday (Sept. 22) in a match that features a pair of teams riding a seven-match unbeaten run, including a Dons' program that hasn't lost a match through their first seven contests. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #9
WHAT: San Francisco (5-0-2) at Sacramento State (5-1-2)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022
TIME: 4 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
IN THE POLLS: Sacramento State is receiving six votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, one of 11 teams in that category as of Sept. 20... The Hornets also enter the week ranked No. 4 in the Far West region, up two spots from last week's ranking... San Francisco is unranked, but stands at No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll for the fourth consecutive week... Sacramento State is also among those receiving votes in the College Soccer News top 30 for the second consecutive week.
THAT'S RANK: Sacramento State's appearance in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week marks only the seventh time that the Hornets have been among that group according to the organization's archive that dates back to 1996, and the first since they received six votes on Aug. 30, 2011. Sacramento State has twice finished the year receiving votes nationally in 2009 and 2010, including a program-high seven votes at the end of the 2010 campaign.
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 against San Francisco 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.
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 SAN FRANCISCO: The Dons enter the week unbeaten on the year with a 5-0-2 record coming off a pair of shutouts over Cal Poly (6-0) and CSU Bakersfield (3-0) last week... USF has allowed only one goal of its last four matches (a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton) and has surrendered only four all season... Four different Dons have scored three goals apiece this year, while Nathan Simeon is among the national leaders with eight assists on the season... Through seven matches, goalkeeper Eric Waltz has played every minute, posting a 0.57 goals against average and 25 saves (.862 save percentage) to go along with four clean sheets.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State narrowly leads the all-time series with San Francisco by a 7-6-3 count after the Dons posted a 2-1 win at home last season... Prior to that, the Hornets had been unbeaten in the previous three (2-0-1) meetings, including a 4-2 win at home in 2019... Sacramento State is 3-1-2 at home against USF and is unbeaten in the last five meetings dating back to a 1-0 defeat in 1998... Three of the last five meetings have been decided by a single goal, including a 1-1 draw in 2013.
LOOKING AHEAD: Thursday's match marks the end of non-conference play for the Hornets, who hit the road to open Big West Conference play at CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 28) and at UC San Diego (Oct. 1).
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State owns a 38-57-18 record against the eight current men's soccer-playing members of the West Coast Conference... The Hornets are 4-1-1 in their last six against the WCC after going 0-5-1 in their previous six against the conference.
START ME UP: The Hornets' 5-1-2 start to the 2022 season is the program's best through the first eight matches of the year in the program's Division I history as well the fewest losses in an eight-match span. The five wins this season not only match last year's entire total but marked the sixth time in the program's Division I history that Sacramento State has won five of its first eight along with the 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2019 squads.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: Sacramento State's seven-match unbeaten streak (5-0-2) this season is the longest for the program since the 2010 squad posted the same record in seven contests from Oct. 29 to Nov. 18 of that year -- which was capped by a 2-1 win over Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
HOME, SWEET HOME: With wins over LMU and Gonzaga on Sept. 8 and Sept. 11, respectively, the Hornets extended their home unbeaten streak to six matches dating back to last season, moving to 5-0-1 in that stretch after finishing 2021 with victories over Big West Conference rivals UC San Diego (2-1) and Cal State Fullerton (3-1), and adding a 2-1 win over San Jose State back on Aug. 28 to their 1-1 draw with the Tigers on Sept. 4. Sacramento State's last loss at home came on Oct. 13 in a 2-0 defeat to CSU Bakersfield.
THAT'S CLEAN: The Hornets' 1-0 victory at Utah Tech last week marked the first shutout of the season for Sacramento State and its first since a 2-0 victory at Pacific a year ago to the day on Sept. 16, 2021.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Jaime Robles' second goal of the season couldn't have come at a better time for the Hornets as his header off a Genaro Alfaro free kick in the 89th minute was the difference in a 1-0 win at Utah Tech on Sept. 16. It was the latest goal scored in regulation by a Sacramento State player since Eloge Iradukunda converted a penalty against Cal State Fullerton with 39 seconds remaining on Oct. 23 of last season, and the latest regulation game-winner since Alex Bettencourt scored at the 89:15 mark to defeat Portland, 2-1, on Sept. 15, 2016.
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Five different Hornets have accounted for the game-winning scores in each of the team's five victories this season: Dominic Vegaalban (San Jose State), Austin Wehner (Saint Mary's), Christo Cervantes (LMU), Francisco Magana (Gonzaga), and Jaime Robles (Utah Tech), while Vegaalban, Wehner, and Genaro Alfaro have tallied game-winning assists. Dating back to last year, Sacramento State's last seven game-winners have been scored by seven different players when you add Titus Washington's winner versus UC San Diego and Alejandro Alcantra's score against Cal State Fullerton.
GONZALEZ MAKES EIGHT: Last year's leading scorer is finally in the scoring column in 2022 as Michael Gonzalez finished with a three-point night at UNLV on Sunday. Gonzalez posted the assist on Genaro Alfaro's opening score, then tallied his first goal of the year 15 minutes later to become the eighth different goal scorer for the Hornets this season. Gonzalez's performance was his first career three-point performance in the green and gold as he found the back of the net for the first time since a 3-1 win over Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 23 of last season.
TWO (OR THREE, OR FOUR) ARE BETTER THAN ONE: The Hornets have scored multiple goals in five of their first eight matches, while surrendering multiple goals only twice against Gonzaga and UNLV. To compare, the Hornets had only six multiple-goal matches over 18 contests in 2021.
CORNERED: Sacramento State earned 11 corners in Sunday's 2-2 draw at UNLV -- the most in a single match since collecting 14 against William Jessup on Sept. 24, 2010, and the most against a Division I opponent since posting 13 against Loyola Marymount a week earlier on Sept. 17, 2010.
MAC IS BACK: After missing four matches due to injury, sophomore keeper Mac Learned returned to the field this past weekend at Utah Tech and UNLV, "eased" into the job by not having to make a save against the Trailblazers in a 1-0 win (his first career shutout) while making two stops against the Rebels two days later.
SQUAD GOALS: This year's 15 goals in the first eight matches are the most since 2019 (also 15 goals in eight contests), while the Hornets enter the week ranked No. 26 in the NCAA in goals scored and No. 35 in total points (39). Averaging 1.88 goals per match, Sacramento State also stands No. 45 in the nation in scoring offense.
SEEING RED: Sacramento State has had a player sent off after receiving a second yellow card three times this season, playing a man down for a total of 59:42 in those three contests. However, the defense has stepped up in that time, limiting opponents to just three shots on goal and successfully defending five corner kicks without conceding a score.
HIGH FIVE?: Following his hat trick performance by Gonzaga back on Sept. 11, a fifth goal by Francisco Magana (or anyone else for that matter) this season would be the most by a Hornet since Kikanovic and Dominic Scotti finished with five apiece in 2018.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS... EVERYBODY!: Francisco Magana's hat trick against Gonzaga on Sept. 11 came on seven total shots in the match -- six of those on frame as the junior continuously threatened to put more in the back of the net. The seven attempts matched Dominic Vegaalban's seven shots against San Jose State on Aug. 28 for the most by a Hornet this year and the most for a Sacramento State player in nine years dating back to Edwin Luna's eight attempts in a 1-1 draw with San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2013. The 20 shots as a team were the most for Sacramento State since it took 20 against CSUN on Oct. 6 of last season, while Magana's six shots on goal against Gonzaga were the most since Isaac Flores finished with seven (of his 12 overall) against William Jesup on Sept. 9, 2011.
MORE FOR MAGANA: Magana's six shots on goal shares the national single-match lead with Tulsa's Malik Henry-Scott, who scored twice and put all six of his attempts on goal against UMKC on Sept. 2.
HAT TRICK HOOPLA: Magana's hat trick is one of 17 in the NCAA entering this week's contests and the first by a Big West Conference player since UC Davis' Maximilian Arfsten did so against San Francisco on Sept. 22 of last year. Magana's six points are ranked tied for second on the school's single-match list as he now leads the team with four goals and eight points, matching teammate Michael Gonzalez's team-high four goals last year.
