SACRAMENTO -- After playing five of their first six matches against a Big West Conference opponent, the Sacramento State women's soccer team finally gets a look at someone outside of that league this weekend, playing host to Pacific on Sunday (Sept. 10) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Pacific
MATCH #7
WHAT: Pacific (3-2-1) at Sacramento State (2-3-1)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 10, 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 PACIFIC: The Tigers enter the week with a 3-2-1 overall record after splitting matches against Oregon State (W, 3-1) and New Mexico State (L, 3-1) on the road last week... Each of Pacific's last three matches has ended in a 3-1 result either way when you include a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 27... The Tigers host Southern Utah on Friday (Sept. 8) before making the short trip to Sacramento on Sunday... Pacific has outscored opponent, 14-13, averaging 2.33 goals per match... Fifth-year senior Jaida Nyby has accounted for six of those, scoring at least one goal in five of the team's six matches this year, while sophomore Alexis Pashales has scored three times and added an assist... Freshman goalkeeper Libby Davy has played every minute in net, posting 24 saves and a 2.17 goals against average.
SERIES NOTES: Pacific leads the all-time series with Sacramento State by the count of 16-4-5... The Tigers are unbeaten in their last three (2-0-1) matches with the Hornets, including a 4-2 win in Stockton last season... Sacramento State's last win in the series came in 2019, when the Hornets posted a 2-0 win at home... Sac State is 2-6-4 against Pacific on its home field, with both victories coming since 2014 and posting a 2-1-1 record against the Tigers at home in that stretch... The last meeting in Sacramento ended in a 4-0 win for Pacific in 2021.
CONFERENCE CALL: Sacramento State is a combined 13-41-6 against West Coast Conference schools in its history... The Hornets are winless in their last four (0-3-1) 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 3-5-2 in its last 10 matches against the WCC, with two wins over the Gaels and another against Pacific in that stretch... The Hornets have faced five of the league's eight women's soccer-playing members, having not gone head-to-head against Portland, San Diego, nor Santa Clara... The four wins in each of the all-time series against the Tigers and Gaels are the most against any one conference school.
PUTTING AN END TO THAT STREAK: Sacramento State's win over UC Riverside to kick-off last week's action ended an 11-match winless streak (0-6-5) against Big West Conference rivals dating back to 2019. Prior to the win over the Highlanders, the Hornets hadn't defeated a Big West school since a 2-0 road victory over CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 22, 2019, and hadn't won at home since a 3-1 triumph over Cal Poly on Aug. 25 earlier that year.
ONE IS THE WINNINGEST NUMBER: Both of the Hornets' victories this season have come via 1-0 scores with Sacramento State adding a 1-1 draw against CSU Bakersfield to kick-off the year. Dating back to the start of Big Sky Conference play last season, the Hornets are a combined 6-2 in one-goal contests, winning their last four straight.
KEEPING THE SHEETS CLEAN: Coupled with its 1-0 shutout of Hawai'i Pacific on Aug. 26, last week's 1-0 shutout of UC Riverside gave Sacramento State back-to-back shutouts for the first time since a pair of scoreless draws against Eastern Washington in the pandemic-delayed spring 2021 season and back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since posting three straight clean sheet victories against Northern Colorado, Idaho, and Eastern Washington on Oct. 20-27, 2019.
FAN-CASS-TIC!: After missing all of the 2022 campaign due to injury, junior Cassandra Herrman came through in the clutch to score the first Division I goal of her career, converting Erika Tilford's corner into the game-winner against UC Riverside. Herrman, who played her freshman year at CSU Bakersfield in 2019 before notching a goal and four assists at Folsom Lake JC in 2021, became the fourth Hornet to score this season along with teammates Abigail Lopez, Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia, and Madelyn Dougherty.
TILFORD TIME: Tilford's assist on Herrman's goal was also the first point of the junior defender's career which began at UC Santa Barbara in 2021 and continued with seven matches in the green and gold in 2022. She and teammate Ariana Scholten are the only two Hornets with assists on the year.
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 third in the Big Sky Conference in total saves (25) and tied for second in the league with her two shutouts.
STAY ON TARGET: Sophomore Madelyn Dougherty has been one of the more accurate shot-takers in the Big Sky thus far this season, putting nine of her 11 attempts on frame through the first six contests. Her nine shots on goal are second in the league behind only Eastern Washington's Maddie Morgan (11), while her 11 shots overall stand tied for 10th in the league. Dougherty remains the only Hornet to attempt a shot in every match this season.
LOPEZ WITH THE FIRST: The first goal of the season came off the foot of junior captain Abigail 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.
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 eight career goals while assisting on four others over 39 matches. She enters the week only five 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).
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.
