SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One of three Big Sky Conference schools to begin the league schedule unbeaten, the Sacramento State women's soccer team looks to build upon its four-point start with two more home matches this week. The Hornets kick-off the week against Idaho on Thursday (Oct. 2) at 3 p.m., before hosting Eastern Washington on Sunday (Oct. 5) at 1 p.m.
MATCH #13
WHAT: Idaho (3-4-5 overall, 0-1-1 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (5-6-1, 1-0-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
MATCH #14
WHAT: Eastern Washington (5-4-3 overall, 1-1 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (5-6-1 overall, 1-0-1 Big Sky)
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 1 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com
WEEKLY NOTES: Sacramento State | Idaho | Eastern Washington | 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
• The Vandals enter the week with a 3-4-5 overall record and an 0-1-1 mark in the league
• Idaho opened Big Sky play with a scoreless draw at in-state rival Idaho State and a 3-1 loss at Weber State last week
• The Vandals have struggled away from home this year, posting just a 1-3-3 record on the road and going winless in their last five (0-2-3) road contests dating back to a 4-0 win at UMass Lowell on Aug. 21
• Six different players have combined for the team's 10 goals led by a trio of scores from graduate midfielder Annika Farley for six points
• Sophomore midfielder Bella Gissendanner leads the team with three assists on the year
• Sophomore goalkeeper Paula Flores has played every minute in net, posting a 0.92 goals against average and 45 saves (.804 save percentage) against 130 shots
• Flores and the Vandal defense has posted six shutouts this year which leads the Big Sky
SERIES NOTABLES
• Idaho holds a narrow lead in the all-time series with Sacramento State, 8-7-2
• The Vandals are unbeaten (2-0-1) in the last three meetings with the Hornets, including a scoreless draw in last year's Big Sky Tournament title match in which Sacramento State claimed the trophy, 7-6, in penalties
• The Hornets have dominated the series in Sacramento, winning six of the eight all-time meetings
• Sacramento State hasn't won in the series overall since a 2-1 triumph on the road in Moscow in 2022
• The Hornets haven't won at home in the series since a 2-1 victory in 2021
• Each of the last three meetings -- and seven of the last 10 dating back to 2017 -- have ended in a shutout
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON
• The Eagles enter the week with a 5-4-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Big Sky
• Eastern Washington hosts Montana on Thursday before making the trip to Northern California
• EWU split its first two matches of the Big Sky slate, falling at Weber State (2-1) before defeating Idaho State (2-0)
• The Eagles have been strong at home this year, posting a 4-1-2 record while going just 1-3-1 on the road
• Senior midfielder Delani Walker leads the Big Sky with seven goals and ranks third with 15 points
• Senior forward Chloe Pattison has also had a strong first half to the year, scoring five times and assisting on three other scores for 13 points
• Senior goalkeeper Kamryn Willoughby has started 11 of the 12 contests for the Eagles, posting a 1.45 goals against average and 50 saves (.758 save percentage) while facing 140 shot attempts
SERIES NOTABLES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Eastern Washington, 15-10-5 dating back to 1998
• The Eagles posted a 3-0 win in Cheney last year to snap a five-match (3-0-2) unbeaten run by the Hornets
• In the last 10 meetings in the series, Sacramento State is a combined 5-2-3 in those matches
• The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2023, posting a 1-0 victory at home
• Sacramento State is 8-4-4 at home against EWU, including going unbeaten in the last five contests (3-0-2) in Sacramento dating back to 2019
LAU PICKS UP BIG SKY WEEKLY HONORS
• Junior defender Dalen Lau was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Sept. 30
• It is the third time that a Hornet has taken home weekly defensive honors from the league office this year, joining teammate Izzy Palmatier's two awards on Aug. 26 and Sept. 16
• The Honolulu, Hawai'i, native played all 180 minutes against Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona -- the fourth and fifth consecutive matches that she has gone the distance and the ninth and 10th times in 12 matches that she has played a full 90
ALL I DO IS WIN... AND, SOMETIMES, TIE
• A win over Northern Colorado and a draw with Northern Arizona not only has the Hornets unbeaten to start the 2025 schedule, it also helped Sacramento State extend a regular-season streak of success dating back to last year
• The Hornets are now unbeaten in their last eight (4-0-4) league regular season matches dating back to a loss at Eastern Washington on Sept. 29 of last season
• When you include Sacramento State's Big Sky Tournament run, the Hornets are unbeaten in their last 11 matches overall (4-0-7) against conference rivals, outscoring the opposition by a 14-6 count
HIGH FIVE
• With the win over Northern Colorado, the Hornets matched their overall win total from all of last season (5-7-9), while a sixth win overall this year would be the most 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
NOT THROWING AWAY HER SHOT
• After scoring the game-winner (her second of the season) at Northern Colorado to kick-off the league schedule, junior Tea Reyes continuously tested the Northern Arizona defensive unit in a 1-1 draw, unleashing a career-high nine shots against the Lumberjacks
• The nine shot attempts were the most by a Hornet in a single match since Jordan Carlberg had nine (seven of those on frame) in a 1-1 draw against Northern Arizona on Oct. 14, 2011
• Former Hornet Katie McCoy finished with nine against Menlo College on Sept. 15, 2006, while Kim Kemper also had nine against Iona on Sept. 21, 2008, for the most by a Hornet since 2004
PROMISING START
• With four points in the first two conference matches to start the year, last week marked the second time in the last three seasons that the Hornets opened unbeaten in the first week of league play, also getting off to a 1-0-1 start two seasons ago
• The start is tied for the best since 2015 when Sacramento State posted wins over Northern Arizona (1-0) and Southern Utah (4-1) for a six-point opening weekend
• Last weekend marked the 15th unbeaten conference start in program history (since 1996)
• A win Thursday against Idaho would be the best start since the 2013 squad opened 2-0-1 on the year, while a pair of wins this weekend would be the best since the 2009 team opened 3-0-1
• Both the 2007 (4-0-3) and 2019 (5-0-4) squads finished the conference schedule unbeaten, but the 2007 team opened with a pair of wins and two draws in its first four matches while the 2019 opened with three straight draws before a win over Southern Utah
MOVIN' ON UP
• Thanks to her four saves against both Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona last week, junior goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier upped her career total to 231 entering this week's matches
• The total solidifies the Folsom, Calif., natives hold on fourth place on the school's career list, placing her 20 saves back of Amy Seely (2000-02) for third
• With her shutout of the Bears, Palmatier also tightened her grip on third place on the school's all-time list in that category with 15, putting her three back of Aailyah Fesili (2017-21) for second
• Among the school's all-time top 10, Palmatier stands tied for third in matches played (45), tied for sixth in victories (12), and became only the fourth Hornet goalkeeper to surpass 4,000 career minutes in net (4,004)
• If the season ended today, her career 5.13 saves per game would rank third on the school's all-time list, while her 1.37 goals against average would be seventh
• Palmatier's 11 saves against Hawai'i on Sept. 7 -- the most by a Big Sky keeper entering the week -- matched her career high set against Cal Poly on Aug. 29, 2024, and marked the fourth time she has finished with double-digit saves in her career
• 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)
IZZY DOES IT
• Entering the week, Palmatier leads the Big Sky in total saves (51) and saves per match (5.67), while standing second in save percentage (.836)
• She also stands fifth with a 1.18 goals against average, is tied for second in overall shutouts (4), and is just out of the top spot in shutouts per match (0.44)
• Nationally, Palmatier is No. 23 in the NCAA in saves per game and No. 43 in total saves, while ranking No. 50 in shutouts and No. 52 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 each of her last five outings and 10 of the team's 12 matches -- the latter matching her total from all of 2024
• Sophomore defender Jaety Mandaquit is second on the team with seven "complete games" -- including her last three, while freshman Aryana Martinez is close behind with six -- all coming in the team's last six contests
