SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's soccer team officially opens the 2023 season with two home contests at Hornet Soccer Field, welcoming a pair of Big West Conference rivals to the Capital city. The Hornets open against a familiar face (more on that later) when they host CSU Bakersfield on Thursday (Aug. 17) at Noon (please note the time change from the originally scheduled 4 p.m.), before reigniting the Causeway rivalry with UC Davis on Sunday (Aug. 20) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | CSU Bakersfield | UC Davis
MATCH #1
WHAT: CSU Bakersfield at Sacramento State
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023
TIME: Noon PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
MATCH #2
WHAT: UC Davis at Sacramento State
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023
TIME: 1 p.m. PT
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.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 the 2023 season.
FOR OPENERS: Sacramento State is a combined 9-19-1 in season openers dating back to 1994, having lost its last two straight to Saint Mary's in 2021 and nationally ranked Stanford in 2022... The Hornets' last opened the season with a victory in the pandemic-delayed 2020 spring campaign, posting a 2-1 overtime win at home against the Gaels... Thursday marks only the second time in the last seven seasons that Sacramento State will open the season at home, and will kick-off a season against CSU Bakersfield for only the second time -- the first since a 2-0 win at home in 2016... Speaking of the power of home field advantage, the Hornets are 11-15-3 in home openers, but they are unbeaten in each of their last four (2-0-2) following a 1-1 draw with UC Santa Barbara last year... They have also posted wins over Cal Poly (2019) and Saint Mary's (2020), while drawing with CSU Bakersfield (2021), in that stretch.
SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD: Led by former Sacramento State Associate Head Coach Bernardo Silva, who took the reins of the program on July 5, the Roadrunners finished 4-8-6 overall and 2-3-5 in Big West Conference play a season ago... Thursday's match will also be the season opener for the Roadrunners, who split their exhibitions against The Master's University (W, 3-1) and Saint Mary's (L, 1-0) last week... Senior Regielly Halldorsdottir leads all returners in scoring, finishing with three goals and three assists (nine points) in 2022... CSU Bakersfield returns four of its top five scorers from last year... Senior goalkeeper Hollee Hercik started 17 of the team's 18 matches in net last season, finishing with a 1.96 goals against average and 88 saves to go with a .733 save percentage.
SERIES NOTES: Sacramento State leads the all-time series with CSU Bakersfield by an 8-1-2 count... The Hornets are unbeaten in the last eight meetings (6-0-2) with the Roadrunners, but the two school's have battled to draws in each of the last two meetings in 2021 (1-1) at home and 2022 (2-2) on the road... The two draws ended a run of six-straight victories by Sacramento State dating back to the 2013 season... CSU Bakersfield's only win in the series came in 2010 by a 2-1 score on a neutral field at the Redhawk Invitational hosted by SeattleU in Washington... The Hornets lead the all-time scoring in the series, 25-10... Sacramento State is 3-0-1 at home against the Roadrunners.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies are coming off a season in which they finished with a 9-6-4 overall record and a 6-2-2 mark in Big West Conference play... UC Davis, which faced California and Santa Clara in a pair of exhibitions, takes on Idaho State on Aug. 17 in its season opener before heading across the Causeway to take on the Hornets... The Aggies enter the season loaded, returning their top six scorers who combined for 20 of their 26 total goals in 2022... Leading that group is senior midfielder Leslie Fregoso, who scored six goals and finished with 14 points... Junior goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein, who played every minute between the pipes, posted a 0.94 goals against average and 71 saves (.798 save percentage).
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 14-5-4 count... The Aggies are unbeaten in the last four meetings (3-0-1) with the Hornets after Sacramento State forged a 1-1 draw with UC Davis at home last season... The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2017, posting a 1-0 victory on the road... This season marks the second straight year that the two teams will meet in Sacramento -- the first time that has happened since 2003-04... The Hornets are 3-7-3 at home against the Aggies, but UC Davis is unbeaten in the last seven meetings (4-0-3) in Sacramento... The Hornets haven't won at home since a 2-1 win in 2006.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State has faced 10 of the 11 current members of the Big West Conference and will face five of them in 2023... The Hornets are a combined 25-49-11 against the Big West, but are winless in the last eight matches (0-4-4) against conference members dating back to a 2-0 win over CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 22, 2019... The only school that the Hornets have not gone head-to-head with is UC San Diego, which officially joined the league prior to the 2020-21 school year.
EXHIBITIONISTS: In its only tune up prior to the start of the 2023 season, Sacramento State and San Francisco battled to a scoreless draw on Aug. 10 on the road. Junior Abigail Lopez finished with a team-high three shots in the affair while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier garnered three stops in her first career appearance -- albeit unofficially -- in net for the Hornets.
THE HORNETS, QUICKLY: Qualifying for the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the third straight season, Sacramento State returns 13 letter winners and eight starters for the 2023 campaign, while welcoming back four redshirts and adding 14 new faces -- including a pair of Division I transfers.
THAT'S FRESH: The 12 true freshmen listed on this year's roster are the most under the direction of Head Coach Randy Dedini and are the most for the program since the 2002 squad featured 14 Hornets entering their first year of collegiate soccer.
CHIEFS OF STAFF: Head Coach Randy Dedini enters his 17th season at the helm of the Hornet program and is joined once again by volunteer assistant Danielle Davis and director of operations Joey Lum. New to the staff in 2023 is assistant coach Chris Malenab, who has spent the last eight years coaching in the USL ranks -- including three years with the Sacramento Republic FC from 2014-17 -- and with the 2022 WPSL National Champion California Storm, as well as the Grenada and Guam national teams.
PRESEASON PICKS: Sacramento State enters the 2023 campaign picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference, receiving 34 points to finish just one back of Eastern Washington in fifth and six points ahead of both Portland State and Northern Colorado. Reigning champion Northern Arizona received four first-place votes and 54 points overall to edge Idaho (three votes, 49 points), while Weber State (one vote, 45 points) and Montana (40 points) rounded out the top four.
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 T-8th in career saves with 149 (needs 23 to match Kristy Milanese for 7th)
• Ranks T-9th in career shutouts with five (needs 3 to tie Amy Seely and Jenny Lawrence for 7th)
• Ranks 10th in career minutes with 2,547 (needs 281 to match Destiny Butcher for 9th)
NOSE FOR THE GOAL: Two-time All-Big Sky honoree Abigail Lopez has been one of the program's top scorers in each of her first two seasons with the Hornets, entering the year with seven career goals while assisting on four others over 35 matches. She enters the 2023 campaign only six 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).
OHANA MEANS FAMILY: Five different states will be represented on the Sacramento State roster in 2023 but, aside from California, no other state will have as much of an impact as the "Aloha State." The Hornets feature six Hawai'ians (Ali Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia, Shaunee Egloria, Dalen Lau, Madelyn Dougherty, and Payton Inabata) on this year's roster along with one each from Washington (Sierra Sonko), Colorado (Ella Wilcox), and Idaho (Isabella Vinsonhaler). Sonko is the first Hornet from the "Evergreen State" since Caitlin Prothe wrapped up her stellar career in 2018, while Wilcox is the first Colorado native since Courtney Gorham finished her four years in 2005.
