SACRAMENTO -- The non-conference season comes to a close for the Sacramento State men's soccer program, which looks to get back in the win column by hosting long-time rival San Jose State on Friday (Sept. 22) at 4 p.m. in the second match of a doubleheader with the women's team (vs. Northern Arizona).
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | San Jose State
MATCH #9
WHAT: San Jose State (2-2-3) at Sacramento State (3-5)
WHEN: Friday, Sept. 22, 2023
TIME: 4 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' men's soccer program on all three platforms: Instagram (@sacstatemsoccer), Twitter (@sacstmsoccer), and Facebook (/sacstatemsoccer).
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.
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans enter the week with a 2-2-3 overall record, including a 1-1-2 mark on the road... San Jose State snapped a four-match (0-2-2) winless streak with a 3-1 win over Santa Clara last weekend at home after drawing with Pacific earlier in the week... Sophomore Angel Iniguez leads the team in scoring with three goals and three assists -- one of six players to find the back of the net this year... Fifth-year goalkeeper David Sweeney has played every minute in net this season, posting a 1.43 goals against average and 25 saves.
SERIES RECORDS: In one of the longest-running rivalries in program history, San Jose State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by a 21-20-3 count dating back to 1986... The Hornets, however, have won the last three meetings -- and five of the last six -- between the two programs including a 2-1 win at home last year... Sacramento State is 9-10-1 at home against SJSU, winning three of the last four.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State is a combined 58-42-8 against the nine men's soccer-playing members of the Western Athletic Conference, having faced all but two (UTRGV and California Baptist) of the current league members... The Hornets were 2-0-1 against the WAC in 2022, posting wins over San Jose State (2-1) and Utah Tech (1-0), while drawing with UNLV (2-2), and are unbeaten in their last five against the league dating back to a 3-1 loss to UNLV in 2021... Sacramento State is 9-2-1 against WAC teams in its last 12 matches against the league dating back to 2017... Sacramento State's 20 wins over the Spartans are the most against a WAC rival, followed by 15 against UNLV and 14 against Air Force.
HE'S NUMBER ONE!: Junior goalkeeper Mac Learned nearly stood on his head last week, stopping 18 shots against Saint Mary's and San Francisco -- including a career-high 10 saves against the Dons. The two performances helped boost Learned into the national lead in both total saves (49) and saves per match (7.00), while ranking No. 37 in save percentage (.803) entering this week's action.
BIG WEST'S BEST: In addition to his national standing, Learned's save total is 15 better than the next keeper in the Big West statistical standings (Cooper Wenzel of CSUN), while joining CSU Bakersfield's Brandon Limes (.833) as the only two keepers in the league with a better than .800 save percentage.
STOP! HALT! DESIST!: Learned's 10 saves against San Francisco followed up his eight-save performance three days earlier against Saint Mary's, which had tied his previous career high set against Utah Tech and matched against Pacific. The 10 saves are the most in a single match by a Big West Conference goalkeeper this year (as of Sept. 20) -- holding four of the top five spots in that category -- and the most by a Hornet keeper since Ryan Curtis finished with 10 against San Jose State on Aug. 30, 2019. The total also ranks tied for seventh on the school's single-match list since 2004, just four back of the high-water mark held by James Del Curto, who had 14 stops against UC Irvine in both 2015 and 2016.
THIS CLOSE: Each of the Hornets' last three defeats have come by a single goal, while four of the team's eight contests have been decided by one score.
BE QUICK, BUT DON'T HURRY: Austin Wehner's goal to level the match against Saint Mary's last week came at the 6:36 mark -- the quickest by a Hornet this season and the third time that Sacramento State has scored in the first 10 minutes of a match this year along with Bryan Gutierrez's opener at Pacific (7:03) and Hasan Alsakati's goal at No. 24 Loyola Marymount (7:39). Wehner's score against the Gaels was the quickest since teammate Dominic Vegaalban found the back of the net just 6:33 into a 2-1 win over UC Riverside on Oct. 15, 2022.
MAY I HELP YOU?: Wehner's three-point night against Saint Mary's last week included his team-best fourth assist of the year -- the most by a Hornet in a single season since Tyler Moss finished with six during the 2021 campaign and tied for the most in the Big West along with UC Santa Barbara's Lucas Gonzalez entering the week.
COUNT IT, CODY: Senior Cody Sundquist's first goal of the year against Saint Mary's was his first since scoring in back-to-back matches on the road at CSU Bakersfield (9/28) and UC San Diego (10/1) last season.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE: Senior defender Jaime Robles served up the assist on Wehner's goal against Saint Mary's last week, the fourth of this career to go along with his four goals scored. Robles, whose assist was his first in nearly two years since posting one against Cal State Fullerton in 2021, has now tallied at least one point in each of his four years in the green and gold, including a career-high six points on two goals and two assists as a freshman in 2019.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Only two of the team's 13 goals this season have been unassisted, with three of those 13 scores collecting multiple assists.
CORNERED: Sacramento State's eight corners against Saint Mary's tied its season high set at Pacific two matches earlier, while the three at San Francisco gave the Hornets a Big West-leading 49 for the year.
