SACRAMENTO -- Junior Jasmyne Dunn's first goal of the season just four minutes into the match was enough for the Sacramento State women's soccer team, which shut out visiting Northern Colorado by a 1-0 score to claim its first victory of the 2022 season on Sunday afternoon at Hornet Soccer Field.
The Hornets improved to 1-7-3 overall and evened their Big Sky Conference record at 1-1 with the victory, while the Bears fell to 4-6-2 overall and 0-2 in league, dropping their sixth consecutive contest after opening unbeaten in their first six matches.
Dunn's score came at the 3:50 mark of the opening half as Sammy Wong earned a throw on the right side, finding the feet of Danna Restom making a run to the middle. She poked a pass back to the right side to Abigail Lopez, who fed Dunn at the top of the six-yard box. Dunn took a touch to her right to create some space and unleashed a shot to the top middle of the frame that dented the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
It was Dunn's first goal of the season and the first by a Hornet not named Lopez or Aubrey Goodwill in 2022. The goal was the quickest by a Sacramento State player since Kylee Kim-Bustillos scored just 64 seconds into the match against UC Davis on Aug. 23, 2019.
Meanwhile Lopez and Restom each collected their first assists of the year, joining teammate Goodwill in that column in 2022.
Then, it was the defense's turn to shine as the Hornets limited Northern Colorado to just three shots in the first 45 minutes — none of those on goal — as Sacramento State out-shot the visitors by a 10-3 count.
Lopez and Katie Bessamer opened the second half with attempts, and Dunn added another, before the Bears began to turn up the heat. Lauren Woodhull, Sydney Engelkins, and Britney Donais, all tested goalkeeper Mia Shalit, but came up. empty, and Shalit finished it off with a fourth save in the 84th minute as the Hornets ran out the clock.
The 17 shots by Sacramento State were a season high and the most since it had the same number against Northern Arizona on Oct. 22 of last season. Meanwhile, Shalit and the defense collected its first shutout of the season — and the first since a 1-0 win over the Lumberjacks in last year's Big Sky Tournament — while holding the Bears to just four shots on goal for the contest.
Restom and Madelyn Dougherty each finished with four shots for the match, leading a group of nine Hornets with attempts on the day, while Dougherty put two of her four on frame.
Sacramento State hits the road for only one match next week, heading to the Pacific Northwest to take on Portland State on Sunday (Oct. 2) at 1 p.m.
