SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Riding the momentum of one of the biggest offensive weekends in recent memory, the Sacramento State women's soccer team continues a four-match homestand with a single match against Northern Colorado on Sunday (Oct. 13) at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK…
MATCH #14
WHAT: Northern Colorado (3-12, 1-3 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (4-6-3, 2-2 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024
TIME: 1 PM
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetStats.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
GAME NOTES
Sacramento State | Northern Colorado
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!
• Seniors Abigail Lopez and Isabella Vinsonhaler, junior Madelyn Dougherty, and sophomore Ellie Farber, have been selected as 2024 captains
• This is the third straight season that Vinsonhaler has been named a team captain, while Lopez and Dougherty were captains in 2023
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
• The Bears enter the week with a 3-12 overall record and a 1-3 mark in Big Sky play after losses to Northern Arizona (3-1) and Montana (1-0) last week
• Northern Colorado has lost three straight since a 3-1 win over Weber State to start conference play, outscored 5-1 in that stretch
• UNC is 2-5 on the road this season with wins over Weber State and Iowa State
• Only five of the team's 15 matches have been decided by a single goal this year, including two of the team's three wins
• The Bears have been outscored 30-9 overall
• Senior forward Lauren Woodhull leads the team with two goals and four points -- one of eight players to find the back of the net
• Junior goalkeeper Kaya Lindberg has started 12 matches and played nearly 1,200 minutes in net this year, posting a 1.74 goals against average and 55 saves (.705 save percentage) with two shutouts
SERIES NOTABLES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado, 9-7-4, dating back to 2006
• The Hornets have performed well on the road in the series with the Bears, posting a 5-2-2 record in Greeley, Colo.
• Sacramento State is unbeaten in the last two meetings with Northern Colorado, posting a 1-0 win at home in 2022 and battling to a 2-2 draw in Colorado in 2023
• Three of the last four meetings have been played in Greeley, with each team posting a win along with last year's draw
HORNET DUO SWEEPS WEEKLY HONORS
• Contributing to both the Hornets' high-powered offense and a stingy defensive effort during an undefeated weekend, Sacramento State seniors Abigail Lopez and Sydney Sharts earned at least a share of Big Sky weekly honors, the league office announced on Oct. 8
• Lopez was named the co-offensive player of the week for the second time in her career, while Sharts was named the conference's defensive player of the week for the first time
• It is the first time that a Sacramento State duo has won at least a share of both awards in the same week since Skyler Littlefield won offensive honors and Aubrey Goodwill took home defensive laurels on Feb. 22, 2020
WE'LL HAVE A HOUSE PARTY
• Home, sweet home has been the mantra for the Hornets in 2024, remaining unbeaten at home this season with a 4-0-2 record following last week's wins over Idaho State and Weber State
• The four wins at Hornet Soccer Field this season are the most since the 2019 squad finished unbeaten at 7-0-2
• The six-match home unbeaten streak is tied for the third-longest in school history, trailing only the 17-match (14-0-3) run from Oct. 1, 2006 to Aug. 29, 2008, and a 13-match (8-0-5) run from Aug. 25, 2019 to March 21, 2021
• Sacramento State is 6-2-4 in its last 12 matches on its home turf dating back to last year
• Sacramento State enters the week as one of three unbeaten Big Sky teams at home this year along with Montana (7-0) and Idaho (5-0-1)
TORCHING THE NETS
• The Sacramento State offense exploded for seven goals in wins over Idaho State (4-1) and Weber State (3-0) -- coming off the feet of five different players (including an own goal by the Bengals)
• The seven goals on the weekend were the most scored by the Hornets in back-to-back matches since they put up the same number against the same two opponents on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, 2017
• That year, Sacramento State outscored the Bengals, 6-3, and drew with the Wildcats, 1-1
• It also marked the first time that the Hornets have scored at least three goals in back-to-back matches since a 4-3 loss to Nevada and a 9-0 shutout of Menlo College on Sept. 10 and Sept. 12, 2010
• Meanwhile, the four goals against Idaho State on Oct. 4 were a season high and the most since a 4-2 win over Eastern Washington on Oct. 10, 2021
• Three of the scores against the Bengals came in the first half -- the first time that the Hornets have scored three in a half since putting up three second-half scores against Nevada on Sept. 5, 2021
TOP 10 FOR NUMBER 10
• Lopez continued her climb up the school's all-time lists for goals and points following her four-point undefeated weekend against Idaho State and Weber State
• The three-time All-Big Sky Conference honoree enters this week's matches with 14 career scores to go with seven assists for 35 points
• Her 14 goals are tied for eighth on the school's all-time list, matching Elece McBride (14 from 2008-12) and standing one back of Kim Kemper (15 in 2006-09) for seventh
• Lopez's 35 points are one back of the top 10 on that all-time list, trailing former teammate Aubrey Goodwill (36 from 2018-22)
• Thanks to her four attempts last week, Lopez's 120 career shots put her 10th on that career list, standing just two shots behind Elece McBride (2008-12) for ninth and six shy of Kayla Collins (2015-17) for eighth
• After tying her personal single-season career high with four goals in 2023, Lopez has led the team in points twice in the last three seasons (10 in 2021 and eight in 2023)
OOPS... MY BAD
• The own goal in favor of Sacramento State against Idaho State on Oct. 4 was the first for the Hornets since a 2-2 draw at Fresno State on Aug. 24, 2018
SHE'S A HELPER
• Abigail Lopez's two-assist performance against Weber State was the first of her career and stands as one of five two-assist matches by a Big Sky player this season
• Lopez's three assists this year are a career high and, coupled with her three goals scored, leave her just one point shy of her career high of 10 points set as a freshman in 2021
LOPEZ AMONG THE BEST IN THE BIG SKY
• The senior enters the week ranking third in overall shot attempts (34), third in shots per game (2.62), third in assists (3), sixth in total points (9), eighth in shots on goal (13), eighth in shots on goal per game (1.00), and tied for eighth in goals scored (3) -- the latter alongside teammate Ellie Farber
SYD VICIOUS
• A menace at both ends of the field for the Hornets, senior defender Sydney Sharts pulled double duty all weekend against Idaho State and Weber State
• Sharts scored the first two goals of her collegiate career, netting the eventual game-winner against the Bengals in the 20th minute of a 4-1 victory and adding her second in the 30th minute against the Wildcats that made it 2-0 at the time
• At the other end of the field, Sharts spearheaded a stingy defense that limited Idaho State and Weber State to seven total shots on goal and only one goal -- which didn't even come from the run of play as the Bengals scored on a penalty in the 63rd minute
FIRST THINGS FIRST
• Aside from Sharts' first two collegiate goals, a number of other Hornets collected their first career points on the weekend
• Candace Ching's goal against Idaho State and assist against Weber State were her first
• Lexi Schroeder logged her first career assist against the Bengals
WHEN IT'S GOTTA BE CLEAN
• Palmatier's shutout in the team's 3-0 win over Weber State on Oct. 6 was the seventh of her career, moving her into sole possession of ninth on the all-time list -- just one behind Amy Seely (2000-02) and Jenny Lawrence (2005-08) for seventh
• Three more clean sheets this year will make Palmatier only the seventh Hornet keeper to reach double digits in the category for their career and the first since Aaliyah Fesili finished with 18 from 2017-21
IZZY DOES IT
• Palmatier enters the week leading the Big Sky in overall saves (61) and fourth in saves per game (4.69), while also standing sixth in save percentage (.763) and ranking seventh in goals against average (1.47)
• Three of her top five single-match save totals have all come this year
• A career-high 11 saves came in a scoreless draw against Cal Poly on Aug. 29, followed by a 10-save match against Oregon on Sept. 8 -- her second and third career contests with double-digit stops
• The 11 saves against the Mustangs were just one shy of breaking onto the program's all-time single-match top 10 list and were the most since Mia Shalit finished with the same number against Northern Arizona on Oct. 21, 2022
• The 11 stops were tied for the most in a match by a Big Sky keeper until Portland State's Eden Millan finished with 12 against Eastern Washington on Sept. 27
INTRODUCING...
• Three Hornets made their collegiate debuts against Idaho State on Oct. 4, as Ella Wilcox, Ava Kiang, and goalkeeper Sierra Sonko all logged minutes against the Bengals
• Sonko also finished with her first career save in the closing seconds of the match
