SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fresh off its first Big West win of the season, the Sacramento State men's soccer team is going to need one more for an opportunity to extend its season, hosting Cal State Fullerton in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday (Oct. 31) at 3 p.m. It's "Senior Day" for the Hornets, who will honor their nine seniors prior to kick off against the Titans at approximately 2:45 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.

MATCH #17
WHAT: Cal State Fullerton (4-9-4, 0-5 Big West) at Sacramento State (5-9-2, 1-2-2 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Cal State Fullerton | The Big West

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!
• Seniors Zac Giles and Nick Strangio have been named captains for the 2026 season

BIG WEST BIG PICTURE
• The scenarios that get the Hornets into the Big West postseason are numerous, but the common thread throughout all of them is that Sacramento State needs a win to keep its hopes alive
• Entering the final week of the regular season, the Hornets are within two points of Cal State Bakersfield for the fourth and final playoff spot
• The Roadrunners (1-0-4 for seven points) face second-place Utah Valley in their regular season finale with the Wolverines still holding a shot at the regular season title

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
• The Titans enter the week with a 4-9-4 overall record and an 0-5 mark in The Big West
• Fullerton is winless in its last seven (0-6-1) dating back to a 1-0 win at UC Riverside, which was the last in a five-match unbeaten run (4-0-1)
• Last week, the Titans drew on the road at Gonzaga (3-3) and fell at home to Cal State Bakersfield (2-1)
• Cal State Fullerton is 3-4-2 on the road, having won only once at home in eight matches
• Junior midfielder Jose de la Torre and senior midfielder Fernando Valenzuela are tied for the team lead with 13 points
• de la Torre leads the team with five assists to go with four goals, while Valenzuela has a team-high five goals to go with three helpers
• Sophomore goalkeeper Asger Hemmer has seen the majority of minutes in net, posting a 2.18 goals against average and 57 saves (.671 save percentage) to go with two shutouts in 14 starts

SERIES NOTABLES
• Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 12-5
• The Titans have won the last three head-to-head meetings with the Hornets dating back to  2023, with two of those decided by a single goal
• Sacramento State's last win in the series came in 2022 with a 1-0 win on the road
•  Four of the Hornets' five wins in the series have come at home where they are 4-3
• Fullerton has won the last two matches at Hornet Soccer Field with Sacramento State's last win against the Titans on its home turf coming in 2021 by a 3-1 score
• Five of the last seven head-to-head meetings have been decided by a single goal

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM FOR GILES
• For the third time this season, senior forward Zac Giles was named The Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 26) following his record-setting performance in the Hornets' win over CSUN
• He becomes only the second Sacramento State men's soccer player to earn three Big West weekly honors in a single season along with goalkeeper James Del Curto, who was named the league's defensive player of the week three times in 2016
• Giles is also the third Hornet to win three weekly awards from The Big West in a career, along with Del Curto and goalkeeper Edgar Guerra, who was twice named the league's freshman of the week in 2022 and picked up a defensive player of the week award in 2023

TOP DRAWER HONORS... AGAIN
• In addition to his Big West award, Giles was recognized by Top Drawer Soccer on it's National Team of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday, picking up honorable mention honors
• Following his five-point performance in a win over Pacific on Sept. 17, Giles was named as one of 11 players on the National Team of the Week -- the first such honor in his career and the first for a Hornet since 2024
• Teammate Hiroshi Yang has also been honored by Top Drawer Soccer this year, named to the top 11 by the organization on Sept. 29

GETTING GREEDY
• Sacramento State has scored multiple goals in each of its last 12 victories following last week's 5-1 win at CSUN
• The Hornets' last win with only one goal scored came in a 1-0 triumph over San Francisco on Sept. 12, 2024
• Sacramento State has scored three-or-more goals in all five of its wins in 2026 -- the most times that has happened since the 2016 campaign when the Hornets did so six times in its nine wins that year

GIMMIE FIVE
• Sacramento State's five goals scored against CSUN were a season high and the most since the Hornets outscored the Matadors in a 5-0 shutout on Oct. 16, 2024
• All five goals came in the second half in the latest win -- the highest scoring single half by a Sacramento State offense since it scored seven in the second half against Jessup on Sept. 9, 2011, in an 11-0 victory
• Meanwhile, the 17 points (five goals, seven assists) against CSUN were the most since the Hornets had 28 in that same match against Jessup and the most against a Division I opponent since they had 18 (six goals, six assists) against Air Force on Nov. 11, 2010

GOING THE EXTRA GILES
• No one in the program's Division I history did what senior forward Zac Giles did against CSUN last Saturday night as the Lincoln, Calif., native finished with four of the team's five goals in the win over the Matadors
• Aside from it being his first career hat trick -- and the 10th by a Hornet since 1991 -- Giles became the first Sacramento State player to score four goals in a match, breaking the mark held by those nine other players with hat tricks
• His eight points are also tied for the most in a match in school history, tying Jamel Mitchell's three-goal, two-assist performance against Cal Poly on Sept. 22, 1996
• The four goals gave him 10 on the year to go with five assists and 25 points overall, becoming the first Hornet since Donovan Sessoms had 10 in 2024 and the highest point total since Chris Bettencourt finished with 27 points in 2010
• Entering the week, the four goals are tied for the most in a match by a Division I player this year, joining Western Michigan's Vitor Geromel, Portland's David Ajagbe, and Indiana's Collins Oduro

HELP ME, HELP YOU
• Along the same lines of Giles' four-goal performance, senior Eli Reyneveld put his name in the Hornet record book with a big night of his own against CSUN, collecting four assists in the win -- three of those coming on Giles' scores
• The four assists are also a program Division I single-match record, breaking the previous mark of three set by Ryan Walker against UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 19, 1993
• Entering the week, Reyneveld is tied for the most assists in a match by a Division I player this season, joining South Carolina's Mika Habel, NJIT's Diogo Rebelo, Elon's Ben Madore, and Virginia Tech's Alex Perez
• Following the win over the Matadors, Reyneveld now has seven assists on the year -- the most by a Hornet since Justin Bedig had seven to go along with three goals in 2017
• Those seven helpers are also just two shy of the school's single-season record of nine set by Fernando Cabadas in 2009 and rank tied for seventh on the school's single-season chart

UPDATE THE RECORD BOOK
• Giles' storybook 2026 campaign is among one of the best in school history with at least one match remaining
• The senior's 10 goals are tied for ninth on the school's single-season list with three other players, while the 25 points are 10th on that list
• Following his eight shots against CSUN, Giles is tied with Max Alvarez for the most attempts in a season in school history with 66, while his 36 shots on goal rank seventh
• Meanwhile, on the career list, Giles' 118 shots rank sixth in school history, while his 60 shots on goal are 10th all time

NO SHOT IN THE DARK
• The eight shots against the Matadors marked the fourth time this season that Giles has had at least that many in a match, joining back-to-back nine shot performances at San Diego State (Sept. 11) and Pacific (Sept. 17) and another eight-shot performance against Gonzaga (Oct. 7)
• Giles' eight shots on goal against the Tigers in that September match enter the week tied for the second-most in a match in Division I alongside Fairleigh Dickinson's Jeremie Pleade and trailing only Incarnate Word's Diego Robles, who has nine

SPEAKING OF RECORD BOOKS... BIG WEST STYLE
• Giles' four goals tied The Big West single-match record set by UNLV's Doug Borgel against UC Irvine in 1989
• Reyneveld's four assists tied The Big West single-match record set by UNLV's Billy Gunther against US International in 1983 and matched by UNLV's Daniel Barber against UC Irvine in 1989

LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
• Outside of Reyneveld's four assist performance, Hiroshi Yang, Evan Battistessa, and Ronan Rattigan also tallied assists against CSUN
• For Yang, it was his first point since assisting on Sean Battistessa's game-winner against UC San Diego on Oct. 14
• Evan Battistessa, making his first appearance since going down with an injury against UC Riverside on Sept. 23, tallied his second career assist and point
• Rattigan moved into a tie for third on the team alongside Yang with his fourth assist -- the third time in the team's last four matches he has collected an assist

POINTS TAKEN
• The Hornets' 80 points as a team this year are tied for eighth on the school's single-season list, joining the 1996 and 2024 squads
• One more point would be the most since the 2017 team finished with 81

MAY WE ASSIST?
• Meanwhile, the team's 30 assists this year are tied for fifth on the school's single-season chart along with the 2010 squad

PAGING DOCTOR STRANGIO
• Senior defender Nick Strangio sent home the only non-Zac Giles goal in the win over CSUN last week, netting his second goal of the season
• This year's total matches that of last season's campaign and gives him seven in his collegiate career, which includes three scores while at Saint Mary's in 2023-25

LET IT FLY
• Sacramento State unleashed 17 shots and put eight on frame in the win over CSUN -- the second-highest single-match total of the year behind only the 18 attempts against Pacific (Sept. 17)
• Meanwhile, the eight shots on goal are tied for the third-most this year behind the 13 against the Tigers and nine more in a win against UC Riverside (Sept. 23)

STREAK SNAPPED
• Until last Saturday's victory at CSUN, all four of the Hornets' wins this year had been at home as Sacramento State's win snapped an 11-match road winless streak (0-9-2) dating back to a 2-1 win at Pacific on Sept. 11 of last season

NET POSITIVE
• Sacramento State has scored 25 goals entering this week's matches, standing tied for third in the league and posting the program's highest total since 2024 (26)
• Thanks to their goal at Oregon State last week, the Hornets reached 20 goals as a team for the fifth time in the last eight seasons (not counting the pandemic year of 2020)

SEAN STARS
• In addition to his sixth goal of the year -- and second career game-winner (both coming this season) -- against UC San Diego, Battistessa tallied his second career match with three-or-more points when he assisted on Gio Ceja's opener against the Tritons
• The performance is second only to his hat trick against CSUN back on Oct. 16, 2024
• Battistessa's assist was his first of the year and his first since he tallied his first against UC Riverside on Oct. 5, 2024
• The six goals are a single-season career high for the Fair Oaks, Calif., native while his 12 career goals are tied for most among active Hornets along with Giles
• That duo needs five more goals to move into a four-way tie on the school's all-time top 10 list

TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!
• Sacramento State boasts three players who have accumulated at least 10 points on the year: Giles (25), Battistessa (13), and junior midfielder Hiroshi Yang (12)
• It marks the first time since 2022 that the Hornets have had at least three players with 10-or-more points after Francisco Magaña (12 points), Dominic Vegaalban (11), and Austin Wehner (11) accomplished the feat
• Sacramento State enters the week as one of two schools in The Big West with three players at 10-or-more points along with UC Santa Barbara

1-2-3 PUNCH
• The Hornets' go-to goal-scoring trio of Giles, junior Sean Battistessa, and junior Hiroshi Yang have combined to score 20 of the team's 25 goals this season -- sporting the highest percentage of goals scored by a trio (80 percent) on any team in the Big West entering the week
• It is the highest-scoring trio in The Big West this year, edging the UC Santa Barbara threesome of Steinar Bjornsson (nine), Kaden Standish (five), and Donovan Sessoms (four) by two

WE DON'T WANT TO BOST
• Senior goalkeeper Lucas Bost has been busy in net in 2026, entering the week leading The Big West with 63 total saves and standing second at 3.94 saves per match
• Bost tied his career high with eight saves in the 1-1 draw at UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 30), matching his effort in the season opener against UC Davis (Aug. 20) when he stopped eight attempts sent his way in a 3-1 victory over the Aggies en route to his first win as a Hornet
• The Rocklin, Calif., native holds two of the top five single-match save totals in The Big West this year with those two eight-save performances

AMONG THE BIG WEST'S BEST
• Giles enters the week leading The Big West in goals (10), points (25), shots (66), shots per match (4.13), and shots on goal (36)
• He owns five of the top six single-match shot totals in the league: his nine shots against San Diego State (Sept. 11) and Pacific (Sept. 17) are the most in a match by a Big West player this year, while his eight shots against Gonzaga (Oct. 7) are third, and his seven shots against both Saint Mary's (Aug. 27) and UC Riverside (Sept. 23) are tied for sixth
• Yang is eighth in shots (37), 10th in shots per match (2.31), tied for fifth in shots on goal (17), tied for 11th in goals (4), and tied for ninth in assists (4)
• Aside from Reyneveld's league-leading assist total, Giles is tied for fourth in assists (5) while Yang and Rattigan are tied for ninth (4)
• Yang's two assists against UC Riverside, along with Reyneveld's four at CSUN, make them two of eight players in The Big West this year with multiple assists in a match
• Battistessa is tied for fifth in the league with six goals and is 12th in shots on goal (12) while standing tied for seventh with 13 points