SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The regular season enters its penultimate week of competition as Sacramento State plays two of its remaining three contests away from home. Action begins on the road this week as the Hornets travel to second-place and unbeaten UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday (Oct. 22) for a 7 p.m. kick-off. Sacramento State then returns home on Saturday (Oct. 25) to host UC San Diego at 3 p.m., honoring its senior class prior to kick-off at approximately 2:45 p.m. in the team's 2025 home finale.
MATCH #16
WHAT: Sacramento State (1-10-4, 0-4-2 Big West) at UC Santa Barbara (5-4-6, 3-0-3 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025
WHERE: Santa Barbara, Calif.
TIME: 7 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: UCSBGauchos.com
MATCH #17
WHAT: UC San Diego (0-7-7, 0-1-5 Big West) at Sacramento State (1-10-4, 0-4-2 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
• The Gauchos enter the week with a 5-4-6 overall record and a 3-0-3 mark in Big West play to stand second in the table -- one point behind Cal State Fullerton
• UC Santa Barbara is unbeaten in its last nine matches (3-0-6), earning draws against UNLV, Grand Canyon, and a non-conference match against rival Cal Poly prior to its unbeaten Big West start
• UCSB's last loss came against then-No. 10 Marshall on the road back on Sept. 14 by a 4-0 score
• The Gauchos followed a 1-1 draw against UC San Diego with a 1-0 conference win at Cal Poly
• UC Santa Barbara is 3-1-3 at home this season, unbeaten in its last four (1-0-3) dating back to a 1-0 loss to Cornell on Sept. 5
• Graduate forward Buba Fofanah leads the team with five goals and 11 points
• He is one of seven players to find the back of the net for the Gauchos
• Graduate Luke Skinner and freshman Owen Beninga have split time in net for UCSB, with the latter allowing just one goal in 595 minutes and making 22 saves to go with five shutouts
SERIES NOTABLES
• UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 18-6-4
• Five of the Hornets' six wins in the series have come in Sacramento as they are just 1-11-3 all-time against the Gauchos on the coast
• Sacramento State's only road win over UCSB came in the first-ever meeting between the two in 1992 -- a 2-0 victory on Sept. 11 of that year
• The Hornets won last year's meeting by a 3-1 score at home, ending a run of four-straight wins in the series by the Gauchos
• Sacramento State's three goals in that match were the most since the Hornets defeated UC Santa Barbara by a 5-2 score back in 2015
• All but 13 of the 28 all-time meetings have ended in a shutout for either (or both) team
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
• The Tritons enter the week searching for their first win of the season, posting a 0-7-7 overall record and an 0-1-5 mark in the Big West to stand tied for seventh
• UCSD earned a pair of results last week in league play, battling UC Santa Barbara to a 1-1 draw and ending Saturday night with a scoreless draw at CSUN
• UC San Diego is 0-3-4 on the road this season and is winless in its last 17 road matches (0-10-7) dating back to a 5-2 win at UC Riverside on Oct. 11, 2023
• Junior defender Evan Wellerstein and freshmen defender/midfielder Adam Dunbar lead the team with two goals each -- accounting for four of the team's six goals this season
• Graduate goalkeeper Nolan Premack has played the majority of minutes (936) in net, posting a 1.73 goals against average and 51 saves (.739 save percentage)
SERIES NOTABLES
• Saturday marks only the fifth meeting between UC San Diego and Sacramento State, with the Tritons leading the series, 2-1-1
• After the Hornets won the inaugural meeting, 2-1 in overtime, back in 2021, the Tritons are unbeaten in the last three (2-0-1)
• The last two contests have ended in shutouts for either team with a scoreless draw in 2023 and a 2-0 win for UCSD last season
• Sacramento State is unbeaten at home in two matches (1-0-1) against UC San Diego
ALRIGHT... WE'LL CALL IT A DRAW
• Thanks to their 1-1 draw with Cal Poly last week, the Hornets tallied their fourth draw of the season -- tied for the second-most in a single season in program history according to records that date back to 1986
• The record of seven was set during the 2010 campaign when Sacramento State finished 11-5-7
NOTHING BUT A "GUE" THING
• Freshman Allbranly Gue became the second Hornet to post multiple goals on the year with his score against Cal Poly last week
• The goal -- the second of his career -- moved him into a tie for the team lead with five points (two goals, one assist), joining teammate Donovan Sessoms (one goal, three assists)
ON THE SPOT
• With Hiroshi Yang's penalty against Saint Mary's on Sept. 19, the Hornets have now converted their last 13 consecutive tries from the spot dating back to a miss against San Francisco on the road on Sept. 23, 2018
• Prior to that, Sacramento State made eight straight penalties, extending their streak to 21 of its last 22 dating back to 2015
• Sacramento State is 3-for-3 in penalties this season, adding makes against No. 13 Stanford and Pacific, matching its total from last season and posting the most makes from the spot since the Hornets were 4-for-4 in 2012
HORNETS IN THE BIG WEST
• Junior Donovan Sessoms is ninth in the league with 26 shot attempts and 1.86 shot attempts per match
• Sessoms' 13 shots on goal are tied for fifth in the league
• Sessoms' team-high three assists are tied for seventh in the conference
• Junior Lucas Bost and senior Andres Rosales share the team lead with 36 saves between the pipes, standing tied for sixth in the league
• Bost ranks seventh in the conference with a .692 save percentage and third with 4.00 saves per match
• As a team, Sacramento State's 73 saves are tied for the lead in the Big West while the team's 4.87 saves per match also share the league lead and are among the top 20 in the nation (No. 16)
