SACRAMENTO — For the second time in four matches, the Sacramento State men's soccer team and its opponent battled to a scoreless draw as the Hornets and Cal Poly left the field without a goal on Wednesday evening at Hornet Soccer Field.
The result marked Sacramento State's fourth draw in its last five matches — all in Big West Conference play — as the Hornets moved to 3-7-4 overall on the year and 0-1-4 in league play. The Mustangs picked up their third draw of the season, moving to 4-5-3 overall and 2-1-2 in conference.
Sacramento State finished the contest with a 12-11 advantage in shots — nine of those coming in the second half — but neither side finished on target consistently throughout the match, each ending the day with only two shots on goal, while Cal Poly was unable to capitalize on a 10-5 lead in corner kicks for the contest.
Senior Austin Wehner had one of the Hornets' best chances of the match in the 61st minute as his point blank attempt inside the 18 was saved by Mustang keeper Justin Siegel, while Alejandro Padilla's attempt near the right post off a corner in the 77th minute was saved by Gabe Penner.
Cal Poly had the best chance to take a lead of its own in the 85th minute as Sean McTague found himself open about 10 yards out, but his shot to the left post was pushed away by Hornet keeper Mac Learned and out for a corner to keep the contest scoreless.
The clean sheet was the third shutout of the year for Learned and the Sacramento State defense and the second scoreless draw of the season along with a 0-0 result against UC San Diego back on Sept. 30. It also marked the first time since the 2013 campaign that the Hornets have had two scoreless draws in a season, tying up then-No. 12 UC Santa Barbara and Saint Mary's without a goal that year.
Titus Washington led all Sacramento State players with three shots on the day to share match-high honors, while Wehner and Padilla added two attempts each.
The Hornets close out the week on Saturday (Oct. 14) at 4 p.m., welcoming No. 13-ranked Cal State Fullerton to Northern California. The Titans, who entered the week unbeaten in league at 4-0, fell to Orange County rival UC Irvine, 2-1, late Wednesday night.
