SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State women's soccer team closes out its longest homestand of the season with a pair of matches at home this week, welcoming Hawai'i on Thursday (Sept. 4) for a 3 p.m. kickoff followed by a battle with San Jose State on Sunday (Sept. 7) at Noon.
The match against the Spartans will be the first of a doubleheader with the men's team, which also hosts San Jose State, and the Hornets will salute their seniors prior to kickoff at approximately 11:45 a.m.
THIS WEEK...
MATCH #6
WHAT: Hawai'i (1-3-2 overall) at Sacramento State (2-3 overall)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #7
WHAT: San Jose State (1-4 overall) at Sacramento State (2-3 overall)
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: Noon PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
WEEKLY NOTES: Sacramento State | Hawai'i | San Jose 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
LET'S PLAY TWO!
• For the second straight week, the Hornet men's and women's teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday as both squads host San Jose State
• Dating back to the debut of the women's program in 1994, the Sacramento State men's and women's teams have played a total of 60 doubleheaders at home, but the 61st doubleheader on Sunday marks the first time that the programs will host the same school in a twinbill
• The Hornet women have fared well in their half of those doubleheaders, posting a 31-21-8 all-time record, while the men are 25-29-6 in their half
• Sacramento State has gone winless in its last two doubleheaders, combining for an 0-3-1 mark in those matches
• The women are 4-4-2 in their last 10 doubleheaders, while the men are 3-7 in their last 10
• The Hornets have swept a doubleheader 11 times since 1994, last doing so on Aug. 31, 2023, when the men shut out Utah Tech and the women shut out UC Riverside by identical 1-0 scores
• Sacramento State played a record seven doubleheaders in 2007, with the women finishing unbeaten at 6-0-1 in those contests while the men were just 2-5
• On the men's side, Sunday marks the ninth time that Sacramento State will face San Jose State in its half of a doubleheader (4-4 in previous eight), while the women are 2-0-1 against the Spartans in three previous doubleheader meetings
SCOUTING HAWAI'I
• The Rainbow Wahine enter the week with a 1-3-2 overall record, but are winless in their last three (0-2-1) after claiming their first win of the year over Central Arkansas on Aug. 21
• Since then, Hawai'i has lost to Oregon (3-0) and Northern Arizona (4-2) while drawing with California Baptist (2-2)
• Thursday marks the second trip to the Mainland this year after opening the 2025 season with a loss at Long Beach State (2-1) in a non-conference match and battling Pepperdine to a 2-2 draw
• Hawai'i trails its opponents in the scoring column, 13-8, but has outshot its opponents, 82-76, on the year
• Seven different Rainbow Wahine have found the back of the net this season, led by a pair of goals from senior forward Cate Sheahan, who also paces the squad with 22 shots (13 on frame)
• Sheahan is tied for the top spot on the team with teammate Tatum Porter, who shares the team lead with two assists, with four points each
• Three different players have spent time in net for Hawai'i this year with junior Brianna Chirpich playing the majority of minutes (270), but sophomore Kennedy Justin starting four of the six matches
• Chirpich leads the way with a 2.33 goals against average, while Justin has stopped a team-high 12 shots with a .667 save percentage
SERIES NOTABLES
• Hawai'i leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 7-3-1
• Thursday marks the second meeting in the last three seasons between the two programs after having not met since 2019 with the Rainbow Wahine posting a 3-1 win in 2023
• This year's meeting marks the first between the two schools to be played in Sacramento since the Hornets posted a 4-1 win in 2001
• Hawai'i is unbeaten in the last three matches (2-0-1) between the two schools, sandwiching a 2-1 win in 2016 and the victory in 2023 around a scoreless draw in 2019 — all in Honolulu
• All three of Sacramento State's wins in the series have come on its home field, adding wins in 1998 (2-1) and 1999 (1-0) to its win in 2001
• This week marks the seventh meeting between the two in Northern California
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE
• The Spartans enter the week with a 1-4 overall record and will host Cal Poly on Thursday (Sept. 4) before heading to Sacramento
• San Jose State was winless last week, dropping a road contest at Bay Area rival Saint Mary's (2-0) before coming home and battling UC Santa Barbara in a 1-0 defeat
• Three of SJSU's five matches thus far have been played away from home, posting a 1-2 mark in those contests and collecting its first win of the year at UC Davis (2-1) on Aug. 21
• The Spartans have been outscored by an 8-2 count this year, allowing 75 shots to just 32 for themselves
• All four of San Jose State's defeats have come via the shutout and the Spartans haven't scored a goal since the 87th minute game-winner against the Aggies
• Sophomore defender Charlotte Memoly and junior forward Paige Pineda Aliamus have accounted for the team's only two scores on the year
• Sophomore goalkeeper Paige Fry has seen the majority of minutes (315) in net this season, posting a 1.71 goals against average and making 19 saves (.760 save percentage)
SERIES NOTABLES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with San Jose State, 11-9-3
• Sunday marks the first meeting between the two schools in women's soccer since the Hornets posted a 2-1 win over the Spartans at home in 2019
• Prior to that win, SJSU had won three straight in the series from 2014-16
• Sacramento State has dominated the series at home, posting a 7-2-3 mark against San Jose State in matches played in California's capital
• Nine of the last 10 meetings between the two have been decided by a single goal, with one school posting multiple goals in those matches only four times
• The lone outlier in that 10-match stretch was a 1-1 draw in Sacramento in 2009
CONFERENCE CALL
• Sacramento State is a combined 27-54-15 against the current women's soccer alignment in the Big West
• Hawai'i is the second Big West opponent for the Hornets this season following last week's match against UC Irvine
• Sacramento State has three matches remaining against the Big West this season: CSUN (Sept. 11), UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 14), and UC Davis (Sept. 18)
• Last week's loss to the Anteaters snapped a four-match (1-0-3) unbeaten run for the Hornets against the Big West after defeating CSUN (1-0) and posting draws against UC Santa Barbara (1-1), Cal Poly (0-0), and Cal State Bakersfield (1-1), last year
• The Hornets have faced all but one of the Big West schools, having played everyone except UC San Diego which joined the league in 2020
• Sacramento State is a combined 31-41-10 against the current Mountain West lineup after falling to Fresno State last week
• Sacramento State is 4-3-2 in its last eight against the league since 2018, last posting a win against a Mountain West school on Sept. 5, 2021, with a 3-0 win over Nevada at home
MOVIN' ON UP
• With six more stops last week against UC Irvine, junior goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier now has 198 for her career, moving her past Kimberly Mata (2010, 2012-14) for fifth on the program's all-time list
• She already shares the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time chart for career shutouts with 13, reaching that mark with her clean sheet against Oregon on Aug. 21
• Entering the week, Palmatier ranks tied for third in the Big Sky with 18 saves and a .818 save percentage on the year, while her 6.00 saves per game are tops in the league
• Her 107 saves last season led the Big Sky Conference and were the most by a league goalkeeper since Eastern Washington's Kelsee Winston stopped 116 in 2021
• Palmatier also became the second Hornet keeper to lead the league in saves, joining Aailyah Fesili in 2020 (62)
POLL POSITION
• Sacramento State was picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the regular Big Sky standings according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches released on Monday (Aug. 11)
• The Hornets received 39 points total and one first-place vote to match Northern Arizona, which also picked up 39 points
• Reigning regular season champion Montana was picked to repeat, receiving six first-place votes and 60 points, followed by Eastern Washington (52, 2 first-place votes), and Idaho (49) in the top three
PRESEASON LAURELS FOR SHARTS, FARBER
• Senior defender Sydney Sharts and junior midfielder Ellie Farber were both selected to the 12-member preseason All-Big Sky team
• The duo becomes the first two Hornets to earn preseason all-conference laurels in the first year that the league has released a preseason honor roll
TRADING THE SKY FOR THE WEST
• The 2025 season will be the Hornets' final season in the Big Sky as all of Sacramento State's athletic teams outside of football will transition to the Big West Conference beginning in 2026-27
• The Hornets will be leaving the only conference that they have ever known, as they have competed as a Big Sky member since the 1996 campaign -- just two years after Sacramento State began sponsoring the sport in 1994
• Three of the Hornets' future Big West rivals are on the schedule for the 2025 campaign in UC Irvine (Aug. 28), CSUN (Sept. 11), and UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 14)
HORNETS AT A GLANCE
• Sacramento State is coming off a storybook 2024 campaign that saw the Hornets finish 5-7-9 overall and 3-2-3 in the Big Sky Conference, eventually becoming the first school in league history to win the conference tournament all via penalty kick results
• The Hornets won the title, and ensuing NCAA Tournament berth, for the third time in school history and the first since 2010, falling to top-seeded USC, 5-0, in the first round
• Sacramento State returns 15 letter winners and eight starters off of last season squad, welcoming 11 newcomers -- five of those transfers -- and a pair of returning redshirts to the fold for 2025
• Six of the eight players who found the back of the net for the Hornets last season return for this season led by junior midfielder Ellie Farber, who finished with three goals and three assists in 2024
• Candace Ching, Ariana Scholten, Sydney Sharts, and Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia all finished with a pair of goals, while Lexi Schroeder netted her first career strike in the Big Sky Tournament
• In net, junior goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier returns after starting all 21 matches and playing in all but five minutes of last season's campaign, posting a 1.30 goals against average and 107 saves to go with five shutouts
• Sophomore keeper Sierra Sonko also returns after picking up Big Sky Tournament MVP honors thanks to her performances in penalties when she saved 6-of-18 attempts
NEW FACE ON THE BENCH
• Janae Braun joins the Hornets' sideline as a volunteer assistant coach in 2025
• Braun was an assistant at Causeway rival UC Davis for the last two seasons (2023-24)
• Was a two-year letter winner for the Aggies in 2018-19 after spending her first two collegiate seasons at Santa Clara in 2015-16
• Also brings an extensive international and professional playing resume, competing with the Mexican U17 National Team while also playing with Club America, Mazatlan FC, and the WPSL's California Storm, while also becoming a member of the inaugural USA Futsal National Team
TIE ME A RIVER
• With nine draws in 2024, Sacramento State set a new single-season school record for ties, surpassing the previous mark of six set in 2019
• The nine draws were also tied for the most in the nation, joining Wyoming (4-6-9), UC Santa Barbara (8-6-9), and Towson (6-4-9)
• Last year's total fell just one shy of the NCAA single-season mark of 10 shared by Canisius (5-5-10), Pacific (7-3-10), and Indiana State (2-6-10) -- all coming in 2022 when the NCAA first eliminated overtime for regular season matches
• Sacramento State's scoreless draw against Idaho in last season's Big Sky Championship match was the team's fourth of the year, standing just two shy of the NCAA record of six set by Indiana in 2022
STATE OF THE HORNETS
• When Sacramento State takes the field in 2025, those in the green and gold will represent six different states
• Of the 28 student-athletes on this year's roster, 17 of those hail from California, five from the state of Hawaii (Dalen Lau, Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia, Jaety Mandaquit, Candace Ching, and Payton Inabata), two from the state of Colorado (Elyse McGinnis and Ella Wilcox), two from the state of Washington (Sierra Sonko and Shawna Larson), one from the state of Illinois (Cynthia Waller), and one from Idaho (Isabella Vinsonhaler)
• Sonko and Larson are the first Hornets from the "Evergreen State" since Caitlin Prothe in 2018
• Wilcox and McGinnis are the first Colorado natives since Courtney Gorham finished in 2005
• Waller is the first-ever Hornet to hail from the state of Illinois
