SACRAMENTO -- A rejuvenated Sacramento State women's soccer team continues Big Sky Conference play in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, looking to build on its first victory of the 2022 campaign with a road match at Portland State on Sunday (Oct. 2) at 1 p.m. in Hillsboro, Ore.
MATCH #12
WHAT: Sacramento State (1-7-3, 1-1 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-5-3, 2-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Hillsboro, Ore.
STADIUM: Hillsboro Stadium
WATCH: ESPN+ (https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/9ef32a11-8448-4dba-b0e8-48415138fa7c?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults)
LIVE STATS: GoViks.com (http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=412782)
IN THE POLLS: Neither Sacramento State, nor Portland State, 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!: This week's match 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 PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings enter the week with a 3-5-3 overall record and stands as one of three teams to open Big Sky play with a 2-0 record after a pair of 1-0 wins over Northern Colorado and Montana last weekend... The two victories snapped a seven-match winless streak for Portland State dating back to a 4-1 win over Western Oregon on Aug. 21... Sophomore midfielder Abi Hoffman leads the Vikings in scoring with four goals and nine points overall, while freshman Elle Frazier has a pair of scores... Siena Higinbotham and Chloe Huling lead the way with two assists apiece... Goalkeepers Sidney O'Billovich and Enya Hernandez have split time in net, with O'Billovich seeing the majority of minutes and leading the way with 26 saves and a pair of shutouts to go along with a 1.38 goals against average.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State holds a 15-11-3 lead in the all-time series with Portland State, but the Vikings snapped a three-match skid with a 4-2 win in Portland on Sept. 26 of last season... This marks the fifth straight match between the two programs that will be played in Oregon as the Hornets are 3-1 in their previous four trips to Portland State and 7-7-2 overall on the road against the Vikings... The two teams haven't played in Sacramento since a 1-0 win for Portland State in 2018.
DUNN DEAL: The Hornets' first victory of the 2022 season came on the back of Jasmyne Dunn's first goal of the year in the fourth minute last weekend as Sacramento State shut out Northern Colorado, 1-0. It was Dunn's first goal since she found the back of the net against Eastern Washington on Oct. 10 of last year as the Rio Linda, Calif., native became the first Sacramento State goal scorer not named Abigail Lopez or Aubrey Goodwill this year.
BE QUICK, BUT DON'T HURRY: Dunn's goal was the fastest by a Hornet this season and the earliest that Sacramento State has scored since Kylee Kim-Bustillos scored just 64 seconds into a match against UC Davis on Aug. 23, 2019. Dunn goal also marked the third time this season that the Hornets have scored in the first 10 minutes of the match, joining Abigail Lopez's score at Pacific (Aug. 21) and Aubrey Goodwill's goal at CSU Bakersfield (Sept. 18).
SHE'S A HELPER: Jasmyne Dunn may have gotten the goal, but teammates Abigail Lopez and Danna Restom definitely helped her get there. In scoring the first goal in the run of play this season (all others have been either penalties or off set pieces), Lopez and Restom collected only the second and third assists by a Hornet this season -- Lopez's first since assisting on Samantha Craig's goal against Eastern Washington on Oct. 10 of last season, and Restom's first of her Sacramento State career.
PKs ARE OK: The Hornets have done well to make opposing teams pay for fouls in the box this season as their four makes (in four attempts) from the penalty spot are the most in the NCAA as of Sept. 29, and Sacramento State is one of only 11 schools to make at least three on the year. Individually, Aubrey Goodwill and Abigail Lopez are tied for ninth in the nation with their spotless 2-for-2 showings from the spot, just one off the national lead shared by eight other players who are 3-for-3 on the season -- including Portland State's Abi Hoffman, who the Hornets will face on Sunday.
FOUR!: Senior Aubrey Goodwill has been on a scoring tear as of late, scoring the team's fourth consecutive goal with her opener from the penalty spot against Montana before Dunn put an end to her streak two days later. The score against the Grizzlies was her third in a two-match span and the 10th of her career in the green and gold to go with 14 career assists for 34 points, while extending her school career record to a perfect 7-for-7 in penalties.
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT: The 17 shot attempts by the Hornets against Northern Colorado were a season high and marked the first time that Sacramento State had unleashed double digits in that category in 2022. The 17 attempts were the most for the team since the Hornets finished with the same number against Northern Arizona on Oct. 22 of last season.
NO GOALS FOR YOU!: Mia Shalit's four saves and a stingy Sacramento State defense that limited the Bears to just those four shots on frame helped contribute to the Hornets' first clean sheet of the season and the team's first since a 1-0 upset win over third-seeded Northern Arizona in the first round of last year's Big Sky Conference Tournament.
HORNETS' 1-2 PUNCH: Lopez and Goodwill enter the week ranked among the top 10 in the Big Sky in a number of categories. Following her score against Montana last week, Goodwill stands tied for fifth in the league in points (9), tied for sixth in points per match (0.82), tied for third in goals (4), and tied for sixth in goals per game (0.36). Meanwhile, Lopez enters the week tied for eighth in points (7), tied for ninth in points per match (0.70), tied for sixth in goals (3), and 10th in goals per match (0.30).
RUN AWAY!: When you see Lopez near the penalty area, it's 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' eight 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, Kalista Hardy drew another that resulted in a Goodwill goal off a free kick against the Roadrunners last Sunday, and Dunn drew the foul that allowed Goodwill to put home the penalty against Montana.
STOP! SHALIT TIME!: Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit continues to rank among the busiest keepers in the Big Sky entering the week, ranked second in the league in overall saves (58) and saves per match (5.27) through 11 contests thus far. Nationally, Shalit is also shining, ranked No. 18 in minutes played (990:00), No. 20 in total saves, and No. 44 in saves per match.
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 10 career goals -- seven 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.
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 (currently tied for No. 13 nationally in a single match this year), 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.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A RECORD: Well, it was close. Shalit's 15-save performance against nationally ranked Stanford in the season opener 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.
