SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's soccer team closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a pair of matches this week, heading to Saint Mary's on Thursday (Sept. 14) at 4 p.m., before hosting California Baptist on Sunday (Sept. 17) at 1 p.m. Prior to kickoff against the Lancers, the Hornets will honor its two seniors as part of "Senior Day" festivities.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Saint Mary's | California Baptist
MATCH #7
WHAT: Sacramento State (2-4-1) at Saint Mary's (5-2-1)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023
TIME: 4 p.m.
WHERE: Moraga, Calif.
STADIUM: Saint Mary's Stadium
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SMCGaels.com
MATCH #8
WHAT: California Baptist (5-1-1) at Sacramento State (2-4-1)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 17, 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 the 2023 season.
SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels enter the week with a 5-2-1 overall record and are unbeaten in their last four with a draw against James Madison (1-1) and three straight victories over San Jose State (2-0), No. 15 Washington State (1-0), and Eastern Washington (6-3)... Saint Mary's is unbeaten at home this season, posting a 2-0-1 mark on its home field... Sophomore forward Briana Salvetti leads the team with six goals, four assists, and 16 points, doing so on just 18 shot attempts... Senior goalkeeper Taylor Poland has started seven of the team's eight contests, posting a 1.43 goals against average and 26 saves (.722 save percentage).
SERIES NOTES: Saint Mary's leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by the count of 10-4-1, with each team winning twice and battling to a 1-1 draw in the last five meetings... The two programs haven't met since the fall of 2021, with the Gaels scoring a 2-0 win in Moraga... The Hornets are 2-7 on the road against Saint Mary's, last posting a win by a 2-1 score in 2017... The Gaels have won six of the last seven in the series.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: The Lancers enter the week with a 5-1-1 overall record and are unbeaten in their last four, posting wins over UTEP (6-0), Oregon (1-0), and Fresno State (2-1), while posting a scoreless draw against UTSA... Five of the team's seven matches have been played at home, but CBU has won both of its road contests against UC Riverside (4-1) and the Ducks... Senior forward Marcella Brooks has come off the bench to lead the team in scoring with five goals on 10 shots... Six players have scored goals, while 11 have collected an assist... Senior goalkeeper Noa Schumacher has played every minute in net, posting a 0.57 goals against average (4 goals allowed) and 22 saves (.846 save percentage).
SERIES NOTES: Sunday marks only the third meeting between Sacramento State and California Baptist... The Lancers posted a 2-0 victory over the Hornets last season in Riverside, Calif., while the two battled to a 2-2 draw in 2019 in Sacramento.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State is a combined 13-42-6 against West Coast Conference schools in its history... The Hornets are winless in their last five (0-4-1) against the league dating back to a 2-1 win in double overtime against Saint Mary's in the pandemic-delayed spring season of 2021... Sacramento State is 3-6-2 in its last 11 matches against the WCC, with two wins over the Gaels and another against Pacific in that stretch... Sacramento State is 7-6-2 combined against the WAC, six of those coming against former Big Sky rivals Southern Utah... The Hornets also have a win over Utah Valley and a draw against SeattleU.
ONE AND ONLY: Last Sunday's one-goal decision against Pacific marked their third such result in their last four matches, but the 3-2 defeat snapped a four-match winning streak by the Hornets in such contests dating back to last season.
TWO TIMES THE GOALS: Sacramento State's two goals against Pacific on Sunday marked the first time this year that the Hornets have scored multiple goals in a match and the first since a 2-1 win at Idaho on Oct. 16 of last season.
FIRST FOR FARBER: Freshman Ellie Farber, who enters the week as one of the top shot-takers in the Big Sky Conference, put her name in the point column last Sunday against the Tigers, posting an assist on teammate Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia's opening score. Only the third Hornet to tally an assist this season, Farber enters the week ranked tied for sixth in the league with 2.14 shots per game, while her team-high 15 shots overall are tied for ninth in the conference.
TWO FOR TEYSHA-RAY: Spinney-Kuahuia's second goal of the year against Pacific made her the first Hornet freshman to score multiple goals in a season since Abigail Lopez (4) and Danna Restom (3) did so in their debut season in 2021.
BUSY IZZY: Freshman goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier has been busy as of late, following up her career-high nine saves at Hawai'i on on Aug. 24 with six stops in the shutout of UC Riverside a week later. Palmatier, who has played in all but 35 minutes between the pipes this season, enters the week ranked fourth in the Big Sky in total saves (28) and third in the league at 4.00 saves per game.
STAY ON TARGET: Sophomore Madelyn Dougherty has been one of the more accurate shot-takers in the Big Sky thus far this season, putting 10 of her 12 attempts (.833) on frame through the first seven contests. Her 10 shots on goal rank in a three-way tie for second in the league behind only Eastern Washington's Maddie Morgan (19) and she remains the only Sacramento State player to attempt a shot in every match this season.
NOSE FOR THE GOAL: Junior captain Abigail 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 nine career goals while assisting on four others over 40 matches. She enters the week only four 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).
LOPEZ WITH THE FIRST: The first goal of the season came off the foot of Lopez, whose penalty in the first half against CSU Bakersfield following a red card staked the Hornets to the early lead. It was her third career conversion from the spot after going 2-for-2 as a sophomore in 2022, and give her sole possession of second place on the school's career list according to available records 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 151 (needs 21 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 2,582 (needs 246 to match Destiny Butcher for 9th)
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.
STATE OF THE HORNETS: 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.
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.
