OGDEN, Utah — Freshman goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier finished with a career-high 10 saves on the night, denying the attacking Weber State offense at every turn as Sacramento State walked off with a scoreless draw against the Wildcats on Friday night at Wildcat Soccer Field in Ogden, Utah.
The Hornets moved to 4-7-4 overall on the year and 2-2-2 in Big Sky Conference play, picking up a point in the first of three straight road matches to end the regular season. Weber State, which entered the night winless on the year, moved to 0-9-4 overall and 0-3-3 in league play.
Facing a barrage of 17 shots -- including 11 of those in the second half — Palmatier finished with five stops in each half on Friday night en route to her career-high total, surpassing her previous best of nine saves at Hawai'i back on Aug. 24. It was the most saves by a Hornet goalkeeper since current teammate Mia Shalit finished with 11 stops in last year's regular season finale at Northern Arizona on Oct. 21.
The four shutouts for Palmatier are also the most by a Sacramento State keeper since Aaliyah Fesili finished with 10 in 2019.
Weber State held a 6-3 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes, including a ball that clanged off the left post by Grace Kirby, who put four of her seven attempts on goal for the match, in the 29th minute.
The Wildcats also nearly had a goal just five minutes into the second half, but Kirby's initial shot was saved and defender
Isabella Vinsonhaler cleared a ball off the line just seconds after offside was called, which would have erased any score.
Katie Bessemer had the Hornets' first scoring attempt turned away by the Wildcats' Hadley Harris just two minutes in as she tried to sneak one to the far post, but Harris dove to make the stop.
Lopez then had a golden chance at the top of the six, but her header was tracked down by Harris right at the line and
Ariana Scholten then let one fly in the 84th minute that barely missed the upper left corner before sailing away from danger.
Sacramento State closes out the weekend with a match at Idaho State on Sunday (Oct. 15) at Noon PT. The Bengals defeated first-place Portland State by a 3-1 score on Friday, handing the Vikings their first conference loss of the year.
