SACRAMENTO -- It couldn't get much closer than that.
With the clock winding down and the Sacramento State women's soccer team chasing a goal, junior Isabella Vinsonhaler knocked in the game-tying goal off a hasty corner kick by sophomore Madelyn Dougherty with three seconds remaining in the match, helping the Hornets forge a 1-1 draw with visiting California Baptist on Sunday afternoon at Hornet Soccer Field.
Following three consecutive defeats, Sacramento State took away a point from the contest, moving to 2-5-2 overall on the year. The Lancers remained unbeaten in their last six contests with Sunday's result, moving to 5-1-3 overall.
Vinsonhaler, who played her true freshman season at California Baptist in 2020 before transferring to Sacramento State, netted her first career goal on Sunday, bringing the Hornets level after the Lancers had led for nearly the entire contest.
With CBU continuously kicking the ball deep to try and take seconds off the clock, Sammy Wong eventually played the ball forward to Ellie Farber, who was able to kick it off a Lancer defender for a corner with 20 seconds remaining. Dougherty grabbed the ball and raced to the far corner, putting a ball into the box with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Vinsonhaler, in the middle of three CBU defenders then got her foot on it, flicking it on, and splitting a pair of Lancer defenders on the goal line for the tying score.
The two teams started the day with just one shot and five successfully defended corners in the first 15 minutes before California Baptist was able to get on the board. McKenna Ray was making a run down the right side when she was taken down from behind by a Sacramento State defender, drawing a yellow card for a foul in the box and earning a penalty kick for her team.
Frida Murrieta then stepped to the spot and roofed a goal to the upper right corner for her second goal of the season and a 1-0 Lancer lead in the 17th minute.
Shots then came quickly over the next 13 minutes as the Hornets put three in succession on the CBU goal and both teams closed out the period with four attempts over the final 29 minutes as California Baptist carried the 1-0 lead into the locker room at the break.
Dougherty and
Ariana Scholten opened the second half with back-to-back shots and goalkeeper
Mia Shalit turned away a pair of opportunities by the Lancers in the 53rd minute as each team looked to find the back of the net, but neither could until Vinsonhaler's heroics at the death.
CBU held a 14-10 advantage in shots, with the Hornets putting six of their 10 attempts forward in the second half. Dougherty and
Lexi Schroeder each had a pair of Sacramento State to lead the way, while Kaylee Hauck and Murrieta tallied four to share match-high honors.
With non-conference play now behind them, the Hornets kick-off Big Sky Conference play next week, hosting Northern Arizona on Friday (Sept. 22) at 1:30 p.m., before traveling to Northern Colorado on Sunday (Sept. 24) for an 11 a.m. kick-off in Greeley, Colo. The match against the Lumberjacks on Friday will be the first of a doubleheader with the men's team, which hosts San Jose State at 4 p.m. in its non-conference finale.
