Complete Weekly Release: Sacramento State Game Notes
SACRAMENTO -- The "second season" for the Sacramento State women's soccer team opens with a bang at home this week, welcoming a pair of Big Sky Conference champions to Hornet Soccer Field to kick-off league play. The Hornets open against reigning conference tournament champion Montana on Friday (Sept. 23) at 3:30 p.m., before last year's regular season champ Northern Colorado pays a visit on Sunday (Sept. 25) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #10
WHAT: Montana (3-2-5, 0-0 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (0-6-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 23, 2022
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #11
WHAT: Northern Colorado (4-4-2, 0-0 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (0-6-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
IN THE POLLS: Neither Sacramento State, Montana, nor Northern Colorado, are ranked nationally entering this week's contests.
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 matches 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.
SCOUTING MONTANA: The Grizzlies enter the week with a 3-2-5 overall record and are unbeaten in their last six outings (3-0-3) dating back to a 2-0 loss on the road at Portland on Aug. 28... In the process, Montana has shutout five of its last six opponents -- including a pair of scoreless draws -- outscoring the opposition 13-1 in that stretch... Last week, the Grizzlies drew with Boise State on the road (0-0) and shut out North Dakota State (3-0) at home... Sophomore Delaney Lou Schorr leads the team with five goals and 11 points, while junior Maysa Walters paces the squad with five assists... Sophomore Camellia Xu has played every minute in net, posting a 0.70 goals against average and 32 saves (.821 save percentage) to go with six shutouts on the year.
SERIES NOTES: Montana leads the all-time series with the Hornets by an 18-7-6 count and are unbeaten in its last 10 meetings with Sacramento State, posting an 8-0-2 record in that span... The Hornets' last win in the series came on Oct. 4, 2013, posting a 3-0 victory in Missoula that was the last in a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1) for Sacramento State... All but four meetings in the series have been Big Sky affairs as the first meeting in 1995 was a non-conference clash, while the other three came in the conference tournament... Five of the Hornets' seven wins in the series have come at home where Sacramento State is 5-8-2 against Montana in the series.
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO: The Bears enter the week with a 4-4-2 overall record and hosts Portland State on Sept. 23 prior to visiting Northern California... Northern Colorado has lost its last four contests following an unbeaten start, dropping matches at Washington State (6-0) and at home to Utah State (1-0) last week... Sophomore Lauren Woodhull leads the team with five goals and 10 points overall, while four others have scored twice... Junior Kaya Lindberg has played all but 31 minutes in net, sporting a 1.66 goals against average and 55 saves (.775 save percentage) to go with three shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State narrowly leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado by an 8-7-3 count, but the Bears have won four of the last five meetings... UNC won last year's meeting, 2-0, in Greeley, Colo., while the Hornets last posted a win in the series by a 1-0 score on the road in 2019... Sacramento State is 3-3-2 against the Bears at home in the series, but Sunday will mark the first meeting at Hornet Soccer Field since 2018, which was won by UNC, 3-1... The Bears have won the last three in Sacramento dating back to 2015 after the Hornets opened unbeaten (3-0-2) in the first five meetings in Northern California.
FOR OPENERS... BIG SKY STYLE: Sacramento State is a combined 11-9-6 in Big Sky Conference openers dating back to 1996, but the Hornets are winless in their last three dating back to a 1-0 win at Eastern Washington in 2018... Since then, Sacramento State has battled to draws with Weber State (1-1 in 2019) and the Eagles (0-0 in 2020-21) while falling at Portland State (4-2) last year... Friday marks only the second time in the last seven seasons that the Hornets will open conference at home along with that draw against EWU, and the 11th time in 27 all-time Big Sky openers... Sacramento State is 5-2-3 when opening league play at home, including a 2-0-1 mark in its last three... The Hornets have opened Big Sky play against Montana only once, posting a 3-0 win at home in 2010.
BRACE YOURSELF, AUBREY: A pair of goals 11 minutes apart were all senior Aubrey Goodwill needed to collect her second career brace, helping her side forge a 2-2 draw with CSU Bakersfield on Sunday in the non-conference finale. It was Goodwill's first multi-goal performance since she scored twice -- the second of which was the "golden goal" game-winner in double overtime -- in a 2-1 victory at Portland State on April 21, 2021. The two scores were also only the second and third of her career during the run of play as a school record six of her nine career scores have been on penalties.
MY TURN: After Abigail Lopez scored the Hornets' first three goals of the season, Goodwill now has a similar streak of her own, scoring each of Sacramento State's last three goals dating back to her goal against UC Davis on Sept. 1.
HORNETS' 1-2 PUNCH: Lopez and Goodwill enter the week ranked among the top 10 in the Big Sky in a number of categories. Thanks to her outburst in Bakersfield, Goodwill stands tied for sixth in the league in points (7), tied for ninth in points per match (0.78), tied for fourth in goals (3), and ninth in goals per match (0.30). Meanwhile, Lopez is tied for 10th in points (6), tied for fourth in goals (3), and eighth in goals per match (0.38).
SHALIT SAVES: When it comes to facing nationally ranked opponents, junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit has risen to the occasion. After logging a career-high 15 saves in the regular season opener against then-No. 21 Stanford, Shalit nearly matched that performance on Sept. 15 against then-No. 22 Washington, making 11 stops in a contest that was a one-goal game until the final nine minutes. The performance was Shalit's third career double-digit save total as a Hornet when you include an 11-save effort at Saint Mary's in 2021.
STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE: Aside from her standing among her peers in the Big Sky, Shalit has also been one of the busiest keepers in the nation heading into the start of conference play, ranking No. 12 in the NCAA in saves, No. 19 in minutes played (810:00), and No. 34 in saves per match. Her career-high 15 saves against nationally ranked Stanford are still tied for No. 11 on the national single-match list entering the week.
THEY'RE KEEPERS: Sunday's match-up between Shalit and Northern Colorado's Kaya Lindberg features two of the Big Sky Conference's top shot-stoppers. Shalit ranks second in the league with 50 saves entering the week, trailing only Lindberg's 55, while she leads the conference with 5.56 saves per match to Lindberg's 5.50 saves per game.
HALT!: When Goodwill found the back of the net at the 8:52 mark against CSU Bakersfield on Sunday, it put an end of a run of 349:01 without a goal for the Hornets dating back to Goodwill's penalty against UC Davis on Sept. 1. It was also the first non-penalty kick goal for Sacramento State since Lopez scored during the run of play in the ninth minute against Pacific on Aug. 21.
HELP WANTED: Five of the team's six goals have been unassisted strikes, including three of those from the penalty spot, with Goodwill collecting the only assist on Lopez's first goal at Pacific on Aug. 21.
RUN AWAY!: When you see Lopez near the penalty area, its best you stay away from her. The sophomore has been adept at getting the attention of the officials this year, drawing the foul either in or near the top of the box that has led to three of the Hornets' six goals this year (Pacific, UC Davis, and CSU Bakersfield). Jordan Goularte is responsible for a fourth after being taken down in the box by a UC Santa Barbara defender that led to Lopez's third goal of the season, while Kalista Hardy drew another that resulted in a Goodwill goal off a free kick against the Roadrunners last Sunday.
PKs ARE OK: Goodwill's first goal of the season came in familiar fashion during the Hornets' 1-1 draw with Causeway rival UC Davis, netting the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 20th minute back on Sept. 1 at home. It was Goodwill's sixth career make from the spot, extending her career record over Lopez, Katie McCoy (2004-07), and Rebecca Phillips (2004-05, 2006-07), who have two apiece.
HELLO, MY NAME IS...: Sacramento State has added a player to the 2022 roster, welcoming defender Briana Pardo to the green and gold. Pardo, a Sacramento native who prepped at Inderkum HS, was a three-year letter winner for the Tigers after playing her freshman year at Natomas HS, twice earning All-Capital Valley Conference honors and starting every match over her last two prep seasons.
GOODWILL HUNTING: Entering the season ranked tied for third on the school's all-time list with 13 career assists, 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 seven career goals -- six of those from the penalty spot) put Goodwill just eight helpers back of record-holder Katie McCoy, who collected 22 career assists from 2004-07.
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.
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.
