SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The first-place Sacramento State women's soccer team hits the road for the second time in Big Sky Conference play this week with matches at Idaho State and Weber State to kick-off a three-match road swing. The Hornets and Bengals meet Thursday (Oct. 9) at 2 p.m. in Pocatello, Idaho, before the scene switches to Ogden, Utah, for an 11 a.m. clash against the Wildcats on Sunday (Oct. 12).
MATCH #15
WHAT: Sacramento State (6-7-1, 2-1-1 Big Sky) at Idaho State (4-5-3, 1-1-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025
WHERE: Pocatello, Idaho
TIME: 2 PM PT
STADIUM: Davis Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: ISUBengals.com
MATCH #16
WHAT: Sacramento State (6-7-1 overall, 2-1-1 Big Sky) at Weber State (8-5, 2-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025
WHERE: Ogden, Utah
TIME: 11 AM PT
STADIUM: Wildcat Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: WeberStateSports.com
WEEKLY NOTES: Sacramento State | Idaho State | Weber State | Big Sky Conference
O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!
• Senior Isabella Vinsonhaler and junior Ellie Farber have been named captains for 2025
• This year marks the fourth time that Vinsonhaler has been named a team captain, while Farber was named a team captain for the first time in her Hornet career as a sophomore in 2024
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
• The Bengals enter the week with a 4-5-3 overall record and a 1-1-1 mark in Big Sky play
• In its only match of the week, Idaho State posted a 1-0 win over Portland State at home after falling to Eastern Washington and drawing with Idaho
• Entering the week, Idaho State has played eight of its 12 matches at home, going 3-3-2 at Davis Field
• Senior midfielder Mary Za leads the team in scoring with three goals and eight points while sophomore defender Talia Coury also has three scores
• Freshman goalkeeper Hannah Wieler has played all but 15 minutes in net, posting a 1.10 goals against average and 41 saves (.759 save percentage) against 148 shots to go with four shutouts
SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 13-9-6
• The Hornets are unbeaten in the last two meetings with the Bengals, forging a 1-1 draw in Pocatello in 2023 and posting a 4-1 win at home in 2024
• Sacramento State is just 3-6-4 on the road against Idaho State, but is unbeaten in the last four (2-0-2) trips to Pocatello
• The Bengals' last win in the series came in 2022, a 1-0 win in Sacramento that snapped a six-match unbeaten run (5-0-1) for the Hornets
SCOUTING WEBER STATE
• The Wildcats enter the week with an 8-5 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Big Sky play
• Weber State dropped its only match last week, falling to Portland State at home, 1-0, and faces Montana on the road on Thursday before hosting the Hornets
• Wins over Eastern Washington (2-1) and Idaho (3-1) got Weber State off to an unbeaten league start
• The Wildcats are 4-2 at home this season, having won two of their last three
• Senior midfielder Brynlee Meyerhoffer leads the team with four goals, while five other players have scored three apiece
• Senior forward Grace Kirby is one of those five, adding four assists to lead the team with 10 points
• Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Butorac has started 10 of her 11 appearances this year, posting a 0.97 goals against and 41 saves (.804 save percentage)
SERIES NOTABLES
• Weber State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 15-11-6
• The Wildcats have dominated the series with the Hornets in Ogden, posting a 10-3-3 record against them on their home field
• Sacramento State, however, is unbeaten in the last four (2-0-2) meetings between the programs, posting a 3-0 win last season at home and battling to a scoreless draw in its last trip to Ogden in 2023
• Weber State's last win in the series came by a 3-0 score in 2021 in Utah -- the last in a four-match (2-0-2) unbeaten run for the Wildcats
PROMISING START
• Following Sunday's win, the Hornets' league-leading seven points marked the third time in the last four years that they have started a conference schedule with seven points
• Since joining the Big Sky in 1996, Sacramento State has opened with no fewer than seven points through its first four matches 14 times, including a record 10 points (3-0-1) in 1996 and 2005
BEST OF FIVE
• Sacramento State's five goal outburst against Eastern Washington last Sunday marked a season-high in goals and were the most in a match for the Hornets since they put up six in a 6-3 win over Idaho State on Oct. 13, 2017
• All five of Sacramento State's goals against EWU on Sunday came in the second half -- the highest scoring half since the Hornets put up five in the second half against the Bengals in that same match
• In all, Sacramento State had five different goal scorers and 12 different players tally at least a point in the win over the Eagles
SIX OF ONE, HALF A DOZEN OF ANOTHER
• With the win over Eastern Washington, the Hornets surpassed their overall win total from all of last season (5-7-9), posting the program's highest win total since the 2019 squad finished 11-2-6 overall and 5-0-4 in league play
• Sacramento State's four victories in non-conference play are the most for the program since the Hornets won six matches outside of Big Sky Conference play also during that 2019 campaign
ACCOUNTS OPENED
• Among that flurry of scores against Eastern Washington were the first career goals for freshman defender Aryana Martinez and sophomore forward Ella Wilcox
• The duo, along with sophomore Candace Ching who scored her first goal of 2025, became the seventh, eighth, and ninth different scorers for Sacramento State this year
• The nine different scorers are one more than the Hornets had last season and are the most since Sacramento State had nine scorers during the 2021 season
• One more goal scorer this season and it will be the highest total since the Hornets finished with 10 in 2019
• In addition, five players tallied their first career points as Hornets with assists against the Eagles: Bailey Fuller, Elyse McGinnis, Payton Inabata, Bri Prado, and Shawna Larson
THE SKINNY ON VINNY
• Senior defender Isabella Vinsonhaler hadn't scored a point since her first career goal in 2023 against California Baptist
• She ended that run on Sunday against Eastern Washington with her first career assists on Lexi Schroeder's game-winner and the secondary helper on Aryana Martinez's first career goal
• It was the first multi-assist match by a Hornet since Ellie Farber finished with two in the Hornets' 2-2 draw with Northern Arizona in last year's Big Sky Tournament opener
SHE'S A HELPER
• With her assist on teammate Aryana Martinez's goal, junior midfielder Ellie Farber collected her eighth career assist to go with four career scores
• Her eight assists are just three shy of a spot in the school's all-time top 10, currently held by four players
• Should she reach the mark, Farber would be the first Sacramento State player to reach the top 10 since Aubrey Goodwill finished her career in third place with 16 helpers in 2022
STAY ON TARGET
• Sacramento State may have finished with only 12 shot attempts against Eastern Washington, but the Hornets were efficient with their chances, putting 11 of those on frame for the match
• The 11 shots on goal were the most in a match by the Hornets since they took 12 in contests against Nevada (Aug. 20) and North Dakota (Sept. 29) in 2017
MOVIN' ON UP
• Four saves last week for junior goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier upped her career total to 235 entering this week's matches
• The total solidifies the Folsom, Calif., natives hold on fourth place on the school's career list, placing her 16 saves back of Amy Seely (2000-02) for third
• With her shutout of Eastern Washington, Palmatier also tightened her grip on third place on the school's all-time list in that category with 16, putting her two back of Aailyah Fesili (2017-21)
• Among the school's all-time top 10, Palmatier stands third in matches played (47), sixth in victories (13), and became only the fourth Hornet goalkeeper to surpass 4,000 career minutes in net (4,184)
• If the season ended today, her career 5.00 saves per game would rank third on the school's all-time list, while her 1.36 goals against average would be seventh
IZZY DOES IT
• Entering the week, Palmatier shares the Big Sky lead in total saves (55) and is tops in saves per match (5.00), while standing second in save percentage (.821)
• She also stands sixth with a 1.14 goals against average, is tied for second in overall shutouts (5), and is just out of the top spot in shutouts per match (0.46)
• Nationally, Palmatier is No. 48 in the NCAA in saves per game and No. 59 in total saves, while ranking No. 42 in shutouts and No. 65 in save percentage
A FULL 90
• Junior defender Dalen Lau's best ability has been her availability on the back line for the Hornets, having playing a full 90 minutes for the Hornets in six of her last seven outings and 11 of the team's 14 matches -- the latter surpassing her total from all of 2024
• Sophomore defender Jaety Mandaquit is second on the team with nine "complete games" -- including her last five, while freshman Aryana Martinez is close behind with eight -- all coming in the team's last eight contests
