SACRAMENTO — Let the (postseason) games begin! The Sacramento State women's soccer team heads to Flagstaff, Ariz., as the No. 5 seed, opening play at the Big Sky Conference Tournament against fourth-seeded and host Northern Arizona on Wednesday (Nov. 1) at 5 p.m. PT. The tournament semifinals will be played on Friday (Nov. 3), followed by the championship match on Sunday (Nov. 5).
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Northern Arizona | Tournament Central
MATCH #18
Big Sky Conference Tournament - First Round
WHAT: #5 Sacramento State (4-8-5, 2-3-3 Big Sky) at #4 Northern Arizona (9-5-3, 4-3-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023
TIME: 5 p.m. PT
WHERE: Flagstaff, Ariz.
STADIUM: Lumberjack Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: BigSkyConf.com
TICKETS: NAUAthletics.com
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Nov. 1
No. 3 Portland State vs. No. 6 Idaho State, 2 PM PT - Watch | Live Stats
No. 4 Northern Arizona vs. No. 5 Sacramento State, 5 PM PT - Watch | Live Stats
Friday, Nov. 3
No. 2 Idaho vs. Portland State/Idaho State, 2 PM PT - Watch | Live Stats
No. 1 Montana vs. Sacramento State/Northern Arizona, 5 PM PT - Watch | Live Stats
Sunday, Nov. 5
Championship Match, Noon PT - Watch | Live Stats
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 women's soccer program on all three platforms: Instagram (@sacstatewsoccer), Twitter (@sacstatewsoccer), and Facebook (/sacstatewsoccer).
WE'LL DO IT LIVE!: All matches from the 2023 Big Sky Conference Tournament will be streamed live on the ESPN+ subscription platform. Links to watch and live stats links for all rounds of the tournament are available on the league's website at BigSkyConf.com.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!: Sophomore Madelyn Dougherty, junior Isabella Vinsonhaler, and junior Abigail Lopez, were named team captains for 2023.
QUARTET PICKS UP BIG SKY HONORS: Junior midfielder Abigail Lopez was named to the all-league first team for the first time in her career, while three other Hornets were selected for honorable mention honors as the Big Sky announced its postseason awards on Oct. 26. Joining Lopez on the honor roll were redshirt freshman goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier, junior defender Erika Tilford, and senior defender Sammy Wong -- all of whom were honored by the league's head coaches for the first times in their respective careers.
THREE FOR ABBY: Lopez's first team honor this season made it three all-league awards for the junior from Elk Grove, Calif., making her only the 16th Hornet in the history of the program to be named to the all-league team three times in a career.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Lumberjacks enter the postseason with a 9-5-3 overall record and finishing with a 4-3-1 mark in Big Sky play... Northern Arizona finished the regular season with losses in two of its last three matches, including a 1-0 loss at Idaho in the season finale... That followed a four-match (3-0-1) unbeaten streak... The Lumberjacks are 6-3 at home this year, winning six of their last seven after back-to-back losses to CSU Bakersfield and Arizona to start the year... Senior forward Allison Veloz leads the team with six goals, while senior midfielder Maddie Shafer shares the team lead with 12 points on five goals and a pair of assists... Junior goalkeeper Trinity Corcoran has played the majority of minutes in net, posting a 0.80 goals against average and 50 saves while allowing just 10 goals all year (.833 save percentage) and posting four shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: Northern Arizona leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 15-10-5 count, including a 13-8-5 record in Big Sky play... The Hornets are just 1-10-2 all-time in Flagstaff, including a five-game winless streak (0-2-3) dating back to a 1-0 win in the 2010 Big Sky Tournament championship match on the Lumberjacks' home field.
HORNET TOURNEY NOTES: Sacramento State is making its 14th all-time appearance in the Big Sky Tournament and it's fourth since 2019... The Hornets are 6-10-2 all time in the tournament, posting a 2-2 record in the quarterfinals, 2-8-1 mark in the semifinal round, and a 2-0-1 record in the championship match... Sacramento State has reached the championship match in 2006, 2007, and 2010, falling on penalties to Idaho State after a 2-2 draw in 2006, and defeating Northern Colorado (2-0) and Northern Arizona (1-0), respectively, in its next two appearances... The Hornets battled Weber State to a 1-1 draw in last year's opening round of the tournament before falling, 4-2, on penalties... Sacramento State is 2-0 in Big Sky Tournament matches in Flagstaff, upsetting No. 2 Portland State and No. 1 NAU as the No. 3 seed en route to the title in 2010... The Hornets are 1-5-1 in their last seven tournament matches after going unbeaten in seven straight (5-0-2) -- including five consecutive wins -- from 2006-15.
AGAINST THE FIELD IN 2023: Sacramento State is 0-3-1 against the other four teams outside of Northern Arizona in this year's tournament field. The Hornets posted a 1-1 draw in Pocatello against Idaho State on Oct. 15, while falling to both Portland State and Idaho by identical 1-0 scores at home on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, respectively. The regular season champion Grizzlies posted a 2-0 win over Sacramento State in Missoula to close out the regular season on Oct. 19, thereby clinching the top seed for this week's event.
AGAINST THE FIELD... TOURNEY STYLE: Sacramento State and Northern Arizona have played the most head-to-head tournament matches in program history -- four times in 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2021 -- with each team posting a pair of wins... The Hornets are also 2-0 against Portland State (2007, 2010), 1-1 against Eastern Washington (2015, 2019), 1-2 against Northern Colorado (2007, 2015, 2017), 0-0-1 against Idaho State (2006), and 0-2-1 against both Weber State (1997, 2001, 2022) and Montana (2000, 2006, 2021).
PREVIOUSLY AGAINST THE LUMBERJACKS: Junior Abigail Lopez converted a penalty in the 55th minute for the game's only score and the Hornets stunned the defending Big Sky champions with a 1-0 victory in the league opener on Sept. 22 at Hornet Soccer Field. Teammate Ellie Farber was taken down in the box to set-up the penalty attempt and Lopez made good on her shot, burying a shot to the upper right corner for the 1-0 lead. In net, Mia Shalit finished with a season-high eight saves in only her second start of the year.
ONE AND ONLY: Of Sacramento State's 17 regular season contests this year, 12 of those have come by a single goal (or fewer in the case of draws), with the Hornets posting a 4-3-5 record in those matches.
TIE ME A RIVER: The five draws this year match last season's total and are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, trailing only the six ties during an 11-2-6 season in 2019. Meanwhile, the three draws in Big Sky Conference play are the most since the 2019 squad finished 5-0-4 in league.
THE BUCK STOPS HERE: Bolstered by all-conference defenders Tilford and Wong on the back line, as well as Palmatier in goal, the Hornets allowed the fourth-fewest goals overall -- and tied for the third-fewest in league play -- in the Big Sky this season with 24. The total is the lowest in a full non-pandemic season since Sacramento State let through only 14 scores in 2019.
KEEPING THE SHEETS CLEAN: Palmatier's shutout against Weber State on Oct. 13 was her fourth of the year -- the most clean sheets by a Sacramento State keeper in a single season since Aaliyah Fesili finished with 10 in 2019. Palmatier's four shutouts this year aretied for third in the Big Sky entering the week, while she also ranks third in saves (66), second in saves per game (4.71), and fourth in both save percentage (.767) and goals against average (1.50).
LESS IS MORE IN LEAGUE: Palmatier has been stingy in net since the start of Big Sky play, allowing only five goals and posting a 0.83 goals against average over six matches, making a total of 35 saves for a .875 save percentage.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: If the Hornets can manage to get on the board first, things usually turn out pretty well. Sacramento State has scored first six times this year and is unbeaten in those six contests, posting a 4-0-2 mark. That streak grows slightly larger dating back to last year as the Hornets are unbeaten in their last nine matches (6-0-3) in which they break onto the scoreboard first, last losing a match under those conditions against Montana on Sept. 23, 2022, by a 2-1 score in last year's Big Sky opener.
TAKING HER BEST SHOT: On the back of taking at least one shot in 16 of the team's 17 matches, Lopez's 40 shots are a new career high (28 last season) and the most by a Hornet since Kylee Kim-Bustillos finished with 43 attempts in 2019. Lopez's seven shots at Northern Colorado were also a single-match career high and the most by a Hornet since Kylee Kim-Bustillos had the same number against California Baptist in 2019.
MINUTE WOMEN: Talking about putting in the time. Sacramento State has three of the Big Sky's top 10 field players in terms of minutes played: junior Erika Tilford ranks fourth (1,519), sophomore Madelyn Dougherty is fifth (1,475), and junior Isabella Vinsonhaler is eighth (1,435).
FULL 90: Continuing on the minutes theme, 10 Hornets have combined to play a full 90 minutes a total of 79 times, led by Tilford, who has gone the distance in 15 of the team's 17 matches -- including 11 consecutive performances until she played in "only" 82 minutes at Idaho State on Oct. 15. Dougherty and Vinsonhaler have each accomplished the feat 13 times -- including nine in a row by Dougherty and eight straight by Vinsonhaler -- while Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala has done so 11 times, including six of the last seven. Cassandra Herrman, who opened the year coming off the bench, has been an integral member of the back line as well, going the distance in her last nine matches and 10 times overall.
COMING UP BIG IN THE BIG SKY: Shalit has shined in conference play over her last 10 starts dating back to last year, posting a 0.90 goals against average and 49 saves to go along with four shutouts and an .845 save percentage.
NOSE FOR THE GOAL: Lopez, a two-time All-Big Sky honoree, has been one of the program's top scorers in her three seasons with the Hornets, entering the week with 11 career goals while assisting on four others over 49 matches. She enters the week two goals shy of breaking into the top 10 on the school's all-time list (Tisha Smith and Adaurie Dayak are tied for ninth with 13).
SPOT ON: Lopez kept her perfect career record from the penalty spot intact with her goal against Northern Arizona on Sept. 22, improving to 4-for-4 in penalties in her two-plus seasons. Her four career makes strengthen her hold on second place on the school's career list according to available records, standing behind only Aubrey Goodwill and her seven penalty makes.
MIGHTY MIA: Senior goalkeeper Mia Shalit returns for her third season between the pipes for the Hornets after leading the Big Sky in overall saves (94) and finishing second in saves per game (5.22). Shalit, who spent time in the summer of 2022 with the Peruvian Women's National Team, finished the year ranked eighth on the school's single-season list with her 94 stops, while her 1,640 minutes stand seventh on the single-season chart. Nearly half of those 94 saves came in the span of four matches when she posted double-digit stops against No. 21 Stanford (15), No. 22 Washington (11), Northern Arizona (11), and Saint Mary's (11).
MILESTONES AHEAD: Shalit enters the 2023 campaign looking to move up a number of school all-time lists:
• Ranks 8th in career saves with 164 (needs 8 to match Kristy Milanese for 7th)
• Ranks T-9th in career shutouts with six (needs 2 to tie Amy Seely and Jenny Lawrence for 7th)
• Ranks 9th in career minutes with 2,873 (needs 16 to match Kristy Milanese for 8th and 33 to match Mandy Trojan for 7th)
