DAVIS, Calif. — Senior Abigail Lopez finished with two shot attempts and sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier added six stops between the pipes at the other end of the field, but host UC Davis scored a goal in each of the two halves on Thursday evening en route to a 2-0 victory over Sacramento State at Aggie Soccer Field.
The match was the regular season opener for both teams and the eighth time that the two rivals — separated by only 21 miles — have opened a season against one another.
Coming out firing, the Hornets broke through with the first two attempts of the match as freshman Jaety Mandaquit had her first collegiate attempt blocked and the second off the foot of senior Ariana Scholten was turned away by the Aggies' keeper.
Sacramento State then survived a close attempt in the ninth minute as a UC Davis rang off the crossbar and another shot went wide.
Sophomore Ellie Farber forced the Aggie keeper into another stop in the 21st minute as both offenses looked for an opening. Palmatier stopped two of the next three attempts by UC Davis before the Aggies finally broke through in the 41st minute.
A long throw from the far sideline found its way into a crowd of people inside the six, where Ava Coverdale was there to poke it through traffic and trickle it across the line for the 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way through the remainder of the half and the first 18 minutes of the second half before UC Davis doubled its lead in the 64th minute. Sam Tristan was the recipient of passes from Jayde Holley and Bella Mayo, finishing from close range for a 2-0 advantage.
Sacramento State's only attempt in the second 45 came off the foot of Lopez, whose attempt was smothered by the Aggie keeper, keeping the Hornets off the board.
The 2024 home opener is up next for Sacramento State, which hosts Houston Christian on Saturday (Aug. 17) at 1 p.m. at Hornet Soccer Field. The Hornets will honor their senior class prior to kick off at approximately 12:45 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.
