SACRAMENTO — Nearing the mid-point of the Big Sky Conference schedule, the Sacramento State women's soccer team is already battling for position for this year's league tournament field, standing in a five-way tie for third entering the week. The Hornets close out the home portion of their 2023 schedule with a pair of contests this week, welcoming Eastern Washington on Friday (Oct. 5) at 3 p.m., before Idaho visits on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Eastern Washington | Idaho
MATCH #13
WHAT: Eastern Washington (2-9-1, 1-1-1 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (3-6-3, 1-1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 6, 2023
TIME: 3 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #14
WHAT: Idaho (6-3-2, 1-1-1 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (3-6-3, 1-1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023
TIME: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
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!: Every home match during the 2023 regular season will be streamed live on the ESPN+ subscription platform, with select road contests available on various streaming platforms. Links to watch and for live stats for all matches will be posted, as soon as they are available, on the men's soccer schedule page at HornetSports.com.
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!: Sophomore Madelyn Dougherty, junior Isabella Vinsonhaler, and junior Abigail Lopez, were named team captains for 2023.
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles enter the week with a 2-9-1 overall record and a 1-1-1 mark in the Big Sky, lumped in among that group of five schools tied for third in the league standings... EWU is coming off a 1-1 draw with Montana in its only match last week, which followed a 2-1 win over Weber State on Sept. 24... Now unbeaten in the last two, that win snapped a six-match losing streak for Eastern Washington... The Eagles are 1-6 on the road this year... Senior Maddie Morgan leads the team with 13 goals and four assists for 30 points -- five of those scores coming in a win over Providence (Mont.) on Aug. 31 and another hat trick against Saint Mary's on Sept. 10... Sophomore Kamryn Willoughby has started nine of the 12 matches this year in net, posting a 3.24 goals against average and 54 saves.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Eastern Washington by the count of 14-9-5, with every match coming as members of the Big Sky... The Hornets have won the last two head-to-head meetings by a combined 6-3 score, including a 2-1 win in Cheney, Wash., last year, and are unbeaten in the last four meetings with the Eagles when you include scoreless draws during the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 spring season... Sacramento State is 7-4-4 against EWU at home, riding a four-match (2-0-2) unbeaten streak... The Hornets posted a 4-2 win at home in the last meeting in Sacramento in 2021... The Eagles' last win in the series came during the 2019 conference tournament, a 2-1 double overtime win in Greeley, Colo.
SCOUTING IDAHO: The Vandals enter the week with a 6-3-2 overall record and a 1-1-1 mark to join the third-place logjam in the Big Sky standings... Idaho fell to Montana, 2-0, in its lone match of the week last week, ending a three-match (2-0-1) unbeaten streak... The Vandals, who travel to Portland State on Friday (Oct. 6) to open a run of three straight on the road before visiting Sacramento, are 5-1 on the road this year... Seniors Hannah Alfaro and Jadyn Hanks lead the team with four goals apiece, while Alfaro is the team leader with 10 points... Meanwhile, senior Alyssa Peters leads the team with seven assists... Sophomore Kira Witte has played every minute in net, posting a 0.91 goals against average and 42 saves to go with an .808 save percentage and four shutouts.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State holds a narrow 7-6-1 lead in the all-time series with Idaho, including wins in each of the last two head-to-head meetings in 2021 and 2022 by identical 2-1 scores... Of the Hornets' seven wins in the series, six of them have come at home where Sacramento State is 6-1 against the Vandals... Five of the last seven meetings have been played in Moscow, Idaho, with the only two played in Sacramento coming in 2019 (W, 1-0) and 2021 (W, 2-1)... The Vandals' last win in the series came in the pandemic-delayed spring 2020-21 season, sweeping a pair in Idaho by the scores of 2-1 and 2-0, but the Vandals haven't won in Sacramento since 2016 in a 5-1 victory.
ONE AND ONLY: Last week's result against Portland State marked the eighth time in 12 contests that the Hornets have had a match decided by a single goal or less this season.
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 five times this year and is unbeaten in those five contests, posting a 3-0-2 mark. That streak grows slightly larger dating back to last year as the Hornets are unbeaten in their last eight matches (5-0-3) in which they break onto the scoreboard first, last losing a match under those conditions against Montana on Sept. 23 by a 2-1 score in last year's Big Sky opener.
ABBY AIMING HIGH: Although she was denied in the scoring column last week against Portland State, senior Abigail Lopez's scoring exploits have her standing among the Big Sky's best, ranking tied for sixth in shots (27), fourth in shots per game (2.70), tied for seventh in points per game (0.80), tied for fourth in goals (4), and third in goals per game (0.40).
MINUTE WOMEN: Juniors Erika Tilford and Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala, along with sophomore Madelyn Dougherty, have been mainstays -- not only in the starting lineup -- but on the field as well. Aside from standing as three of the five Hornets to start every match this year, the trio ranks among the top 10 field players in the league in minutes played entering the week: Tilford is fourth with 1,077 minutes, Fuamatu-Ma'afala is seventh with 1,050 minutes, and Dougherty ranks eighth at 1,025 minutes played.
FULL 90: Continuing on the minutes theme, 10 Hornets have combined to play a full 90 minutes a total of 48 times, led by Tilford, who has gone the distance in 11 of the team's 12 matches and 87 minutes in the other. Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Dougherty, and Isabella Vinsonhaler had accomplished the feat eight times in 12 contests, including the last four in a row by Dougherty, three straight by Vinsonhaler, and three consecutive matches (and five of the last six) by Fuamatu-Ma'afala. 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 five of her last six matches and 83 minutes in the other.
SHE'S A HELPER: Freshman Ellie Farber's three assists put her among the Big Sky Conference's best helpers, ranking her tied for sixth in the league behind Idaho's Alyssa Peters. Farber's two assists in the draw at Northern Colorado two weeks ago made her the first Hornet to have two assists in a match since Aubrey Goodwill against Southern Utah in a 3-0 win on Oct. 6, 2019.
FASTER THAN FAST: Before the sound of the opening whistle faded into the distance, junior Danna Restom put the Hornets up 1-0 at Northern Colorado on Sept. 24, scoring her first goal of the year just 38 seconds into the contest -- the second-fastest goal in school history behind only Lisa Wrightsman's 36-second strike at Northern Arizona in 2002.
IT'S LATE... I'VE GOTTA SCORE: If the drama of the opening minute against Northern Colorado wasn't enough, Lopez put everyone on the edge of their seats in the final minute, scoring the game-tying goal after the Bears had scored twice in five-and-a-half minutes to take the lead. Lopez's goal with 48 seconds remaining is the ninth-latest regulation goal in school history and the second time in the last three matches that the Hornets have scored in the final minute -- both ending in draws after Isabella Vinsonhaler scored with :03 remaining in a 1-1 draw with California Baptist on Sept. 17.
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT... OR SEVEN: Lopez's seven shot attempts at Northern Colorado were a career high and the most by a Hornet since Kylee Kim-Bustillos against California Baptist in 2019. The total is also the second highest in the Big Sky, trailing only Eastern Washington's Maddie Morgan, who had eight against Providence (Mont.) on Aug. 31.
LOPEZ CLOSING IN ON CAREER HIGH: On the back of taking at least one shot in 11 of the team's 12 matches, Lopez's 27 shots are just one shy of her single-season career high of 28 set last season.
MAMA MIA!: In making only her second start since returning from injury, senior goalkeeper Mia Shalit finished with a season-high eight stops in the shutout of Northern Arizona -- one more than she had in her three previous matches combined and the most since she had 11 at Northern Arizona in last year's regular season finale.
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 Conference honoree, has been one of the program's top scorers in her two-plus seasons with the Hornets, entering the week with 11 career goals while assisting on four others over 45 matches. She enters the week only 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, 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)
