SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State men's soccer team gets a fresh start to the 2025 campaign beginning this week, putting its non-conference schedule behind it and opening Big West Conference play with a pair of home contests this week. The Hornets host Cal State Bakersfield in their league opener on Wednesday (Oct. 1) before Cal State Fullerton pays a visit to Northern California on Saturday (Oct. 4). Both matches are scheduled for 4 p.m.

MATCH #10
WHAT: Cal State Bakersfield (0-7-1, 0-0 Big West) at Sacramento State (1-6-2, 0-0 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 4 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

MATCH #11
WHAT: Cal State Fullerton (3-3-4, 0-0 Big West) at Sacramento State (1-6-2, 0-0 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 4 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

WEEKLY NOTES: Sacramento State | Cal State Bakersfield | Cal State Fullerton | Big West Conference

SCOUTING CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
• The Roadrunners enter league play after posting an 0-7-1 overall record in non-conference action
• Cal State Bakersfield's only result came in a 1-1 draw with Santa Clara on Sept. 17, snapping a six-match losing skid to start the year
• CSUB followed that up with a 2-0 loss to Gonzaga on Sept. 21 in its last match
• The Roadrunners are winless in their 10 matches overall dating back to last season and haven't won since a 4-1 victory over UC Riverside last Oct. 26 and have been outscored 20-4 in that span
• Bakersfield is 0-8-1 in its last nine road matches, having not won away from home since a 2-1 triumph at Pacific on Sept. 25 of last year
• CSUB has three players who have found the back of the net this season, while sophomore forward Nils Heinrich leads the team with three points on a goal and an assist
• Senior goalkeeper Zenden Hart has played every minute in net this season, posting a 2.13 goals against average and 23 saves (.575 save percentage) against 105 shot attempts

SERIES NOTABLES
• Cal State Bakersfield leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 12-7-4
• The Roadrunners also led the series, 5-4-3, in matches played in Northern California
• CSUB is unbeaten in the last two meetings with the Hornets, posting a 1-1 draw in 2023 in Sacramento and a 3-0 win in 2024 in Bakersfield
• Sacramento State's last win in the series came on the road against Bakersfield in 2022, posting a 1-0 victory
• The Roadrunners are 5-0-2 in their last seven trips to Sacramento, having not lost since a 2-1 overtime win by the Hornets on Nov. 14, 2010
• Sacramento State and Cal State Bakersfield have been conference rivals in two different leagues: the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation from 2009-11 and the Big West from 2021 to the present

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
• The Titans enter conference play with a 3-3-4 overall record and hosts UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday prior to making the trip to Northern California to take on the Hornets
• Cal State Fullerton's match against the Gauchos is only the fourth at home this year as the Titans have played seven (2-2-3) of their 10 matches away from the friendly confines
• Fullerton is coming off a 1-0 loss against San Diego State at home last Saturday, which followed a 3-1 win over Utah Tech on Sept. 21
• Nine different players have accounted for the team's 16 goals this year paced by junior midfielder Fernando Valenzuela, who has three goals and an assist for seven points
• Sophomore midfielder Jose de la Torre leads the team with three assists and is second on the squad with five points
• Senior goalkeeper Emanuel Padilla has started seven of the team's 10 matches this season, posting a 1.81 goals against and 22 saves (.647 save percentage) while facing 90 shots

SERIES NOTABLES
• Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 11-5
• Saturday marks only the seventh meeting between the two programs in Sacramento with the Hornets leading the series, 4-2, on their home field
• The Titans have won the last two meetings, posting a 1-0 victory in 2023 in Sacramento and a 3-1 in Fullerton in 2024
• Sacramento State last posted a win in the series by a 1-0 score in Fullerton in 2022
• Three of the Hornets' five wins in the series have come via a shutout
• Cal State Fullerton is the only Big West rival that Sacramento State has not drawn
• The Hornets have won three of the last five meetings on their home field against the Titans
• Of the 16 all-time meetings, 12 of those have come as Big West rivals while the Hornets and Titans were league rivals in the MPSF for one season in 1998

LEAGUE LID-LIFTERS
• Since joining the Big West Conference as an affiliate member in men's soccer in 2012, the Hornets are 5-5-2 in league openers
• Wednesday marks the fourth consecutive year that Sacramento State opens the Big West schedule against Cal State Bakersfield, posting a 1-1-1 mark in the three previous meetings
• The Hornets are 2-2-2 when opening the Big West season at home and are unbeaten in their last four following wins over CSUN (1-0) in 2017 and UC Santa Barbara (1-0) in 2018, along with draws against Cal Poly (1-1) in 2021 and Cal State Bakersfield in 2023 (1-1)

GIMMIE A BREAK
• After posting a 1-1 draw with Saint Mary's back on Sept. 19, Sacramento State will take the field for the first time in nearly two weeks (12 days to be exact) for Wednesday's afternoon kick against Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 1
• It is the longest period of time between matches for Sacramento State since 2008 when the Hornets faced Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival Denver at home on Oct. 19, then waited until Halloween to take on league foe Air Force on the road

YANG MAKES IT SIX
• Sophomore midfielder Hiroshi Yang became the sixth different Hornet to score a goal this season, slotting home a penalty in the second half to forge a 1-1 draw with Saint Mary's in the team's last outing
• It was Yang's second career score after finding the back of the net on a free kick against CSUN last October

ON THE SPOT
• With Yang's penalty against Saint Mary's, 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 Zac Giles is tied for sixth in the league in the conference with seven shots on goal, averaging 0.88 per match
• Junior Donovan Sessoms' two assists are tied for fourth in the league
• Lucas Bost and his team-high 22 saves are tied for seventh in the league, while Andres Rosales is right behind in ninth with 21
• Rosales ranks fifth with a .677 save percentage Bost is also tied for sixth at .667
• Rosales also ranks second in the league with 5.25 saves per match, while Bost is sixth with 3.67 per game
• As a team, Sacramento State's 44 saves are second in the Big West behind CSUN with 49