SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After opening the Big West portion of its schedule with a pair of draws against UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield, the Sacramento State men's soccer team hosts its second Pac-12 opponent of the year before hitting the road for a tough conference test.

The Hornets welcome Gonzaga on Wednesday (Oct. 7) in a Pac-12 crossover match at 4 p.m., then travel to previously unbeaten Utah Valley on Saturday (Oct. 10) for a 5 p.m. PT kick-off in Orem, Utah. Both will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.

THIS WEEK…
MATCH #11
WHAT: Gonzaga (3-5-2, 0-2 Pac-12) at Sacramento State (3-5-2, 0-0-2 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 4 PM PT
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

MATCH #12
WHAT: Sacramento State (3-5-2, 0-0-2 Big West) at Utah Valley (5-1-2, 1-1 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026
WHERE: Orem, Utah
TIME: 5 PM PT
STADIUM: UCCU Stadium
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoUVU.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Gonzaga | Utah Valley | The Big West

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

CRISS-CROSS(OVER) APPLESAUCE
• Wednesday's match against Gonzaga is the first of three official "crossover" matches with the Pac-12 this season for the Hornets along with UC San Diego (Oct. 14) and Oregon State (Oct. 21)
• With only three soccer playing members on the men's side in the Pac-12, The Big West entered into a scheduling agreement designed to strengthen and sustain Division I men's soccer opportunities across the region
• As part of the partnership, usual Big West members California Baptist, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego will compete as affiliate members of the Pac-12 alongside Oregon State, San Diego State, and Gonzaga
• The Big West features the Hornets, Utah Valley, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara
• The crossover games do not count toward the league standings with the top four schools qualifying for The Big West Championship at the end of the year

SCOUTING GONZAGA
• The Bulldogs enter the week with a 3-5-2 overall record, but an 0-2 mark in Pac-12 play after opening with losses to California Baptist (5-2) and UC San Diego (2-1) last week
• Gonzaga is winless in its last three (0-1-2) dating back to a 1-0 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 12
• Wednesday marks only the fourth road match for the Bulldogs this year, going 1-1-1 in the previous three
• Senior forward Drew Pedersen leads Gonzaga with a team-high five goals (T3rd in the Pac-12) and 11 points (5th in the Pac-12) on 20 shots -- 14 of those on frame
• This will be the second time that Pedersen has faced the Hornets as he scored the eventual game-winning goal in a 5-1 Bulldog win in 2023 in Spokane, Wash.
• Fifth-year goalkeeper Chema Preciado has played all but 45 minutes in net this season, posting a 1.58 goals against average and 36 saves (.706 save percentage) to go with three shutouts

SERIES NOTABLES
• Wednesday marks the 13th all-time meeting between Sacramento State and Gonzaga in men's soccer
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 8-4, but the two schools haven't met since 2023
• Gonzaga won that last meeting, 5-1, in Spokane, Wash., which followed a Hornet 3-2 home win in 2022
• In that win, Francisco Magaña -- the older brother of current Hornet Jesus Magaña -- tallied a hat trick
• Wednesday is the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools in Sacramento, with the Hornets holding a 3-2 advantage
• Prior to the 2023 result, the previous four matches had been decided by a single goal
• This will be the fourth time in the last six head-to-head meetings that the two programs will play in Sacramento

SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
• The Wolverines enter the week with a 5-1-2 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big West play, defeating UC Irvine (2-0) before suffering their first loss of the season at UC Santa Barbara (3-2) last week
• The three goals by the Gauchos were a season high for an opponent and one off the total number of goals surrendered by Utah Valley through its first seven matches combined
• The Wolverines are unbeaten at home (3-0-1) this season, last falling on their home field on Oct. 27 of last season in a 1-0 loss to San Diego State
• Six different players have combined for the team's 12 scores this season, led by senior midfielder Jose Luis Martin Montealegre's three goals and eight points
• Senior goalkeeper Kolby Sessions has played the majority of minutes in net, posting a 1.00 goals against average and 11 saves in five starts (.688 save percentage) to go with a pair of shutouts
• Junior keeper Jackson Medina has started the other three matches, allowing just two goals (0.67 GAA) and making only two saves while facing 29 shots

SERIES NOTABLES
• Saturday marks only the fifth all-time meeting between Sacramento State and Utah Valley
• The two programs have split the previous four meetings, with the Hornets winning the first two in 2016 (3-2) and 2017 (2-1) and the Wolverines claiming victory in 2024 (3-1) and 2025 (3-0)
• Both teams are 1-1 against one another on their respective home fields
• Saturday marks the second straight match played in Orem, Utah, with Utah Valley winning the last meeting during the 2025 season

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
• Sacramento State enters the week riding a four-match unbeaten streak (2-0-2) following last week's draws
• The four-match run is the program's longest since the Hornets went 3-0-2 in non-conference play from Sept. 12-27, 2024

POINT(S) TAKEN
• The two points in the team's first two Big West matches last week marked the first time that Sacramento State has gained points in its first two league contests since earning a pair of draws against Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego in 2023

NET POSITIVE
• Thanks to the team's three goals last week against UCSB and Cal State Bakersfield, the Hornets have now scored 15 goals this season
• The total ranks fourth in The Big West entering the week and have already surpassed the goal total for all of 2025 when Sacramento State scored just 13 times

SEAN STARS
• Junior Sean Battistessa finds himself in a bit of a groove during his team's current unbeaten run, scoring three goals in the Hornets' last four matches
• The elder Battistessa scored in each of Sacramento State's two draws that kicked-off Big West play last week, tying the match with a second-half strike at UC Santa Barbara and giving the Hornets a 2-1 lead against Cal State Bakersfield with another second-half goal
• The two scores gave him a team-high five goals this season -- matching his single-season career high set as a freshman in 2024 -- and 11 goals in his three-year Hornet career
• His five goals enter the week tied for the most in The Big West along with UC Irvine's Gage Lyons, UC Santa Barbara's Steinar Bjornsson, and Cal State Fullerton's Fernando Valenzuela
• Four of Battistessa's team-high five goals have come after halftime, with the lone outlier a 20th minute tally at San Jose State on Sept. 6

TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!
• Following Battistessa's goal-scoring exploits last week, Sacramento State now features three players who have accumulated 10 points on the season: Zac Giles (13), Battistessa (10), and junior midfielder Hiroshi Yang (10)
• 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 the only school in The Big West with three players at 10-or-more points, while UCSB is the only other school with multiple players (two) in double figures

STAY HOT, ZAC GILES
• Senior Zac Giles continued to add another chapter to a storybook season for the Hornets last week, contributing his fifth assist of the year in the 1-1 draw at UC Santa Barbara
• The two-time Big West Offensive Player of the Week now has a team-high 13 points, has at least one in three of the team's last four matches, and has one in six of the team's 10 contests overall
• Giles now has 11 career assists, moving him into a six-way tie for eighth on the school's all-time list along with Kevin Baena (1992-93), Chris Bettencourt (2007-11), Brad Bumgarner (2014-18), David Fraser (2000-02, 2004), and Tim Gaither (1986-89)
• His five assists this season are just one shy of a spot in the single-season top 10 and are four shy of Fernando Cabadas' record of nine helpers in 2009, while his 44 shot attempts are five away from a spot on that single-season chart

YO, ADRIAN!
• Fresh off his Big West Rookie of the Week honor on Sept. 28, freshman Adrian Alvarenga became the 13th Hornet overall to notch a point -- and the sixth Sacramento State player to collect their first collegiate point -- this season, collecting one of two assists on teammate Sean Battistessa's game-tying goal at UC Santa Barbara

THE YIN TO OUR YANG
• Junior Hiroshi Yang put the Hornets ahead early in the 2-2 draw against Cal State Bakersfield with a goal from the penalty spot -- his fourth goal of the season
• Of Yang's 10 points this year, eight of those have come in the last four matches (3 goals, 2 assists)
• Two of his scores have come from the spot, including the team's first goal of the year in a 3-1 win over UC Davis in the regular season opener

PUTTING THEM ON THE SPOT
• With Yang's penalty make from the spot against Cal State Bakersfield, the Hornets have now been successful in their last 14 penalty attempts -- and 22 of their last 23 overall since 2015 -- dating back to a miss at San Francisco on Sept. 23, 2018

AMONG THE BIG WEST'S BEST
• Giles enters the week leading The Big West in shots (44), shots per match (4.40), shots on goal (22), points (13), and assists (5), while ranking tied for fifth in goals (4)
• 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 seven shots against both Saint Mary's (Aug. 27) and UC Riverside (Sept. 23) are tied for third
• Giles' five points against Pacific (Sept. 17) are tied for the most in a match among Big West players
• Yang is ninth in shots (22), eighth in shots per match (2.20), tied for seventh in shots on goal (11), tied for fifth in goals (4), tied for 10th in assists (2), and tied for sixth in points (10)
• His two assists against UC Riverside make him one of five players in The Big West this year with multiple assists in a match
• Aside from sharing the league lead in goals, Battistessa's 10 shots on goal rank ninth in The Big West while his 10 points are tied for sixth in the league

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 40 total saves and 4.00 saves per match, while his .727 save percentage is also tops in the league, percentage points ahead of UC Irvine's Scott Williams (.722)
• Bost tied his career high with eight saves in the 1-1 draw at UC Santa Barbara last week, matching his effort in the season opener against UC Davis 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 and has another among the top 10 with a five-stop day against Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday (Oct. 3)

HORNET HONOR ROLL
• Senior Zac Giles has been named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice this season on Aug. 24 following the Hornets' opening week matches against UC Davis and No. 21 Grand Canyon and, again, on Sept. 21 following his five-point match against Pacific
• Giles is only the third Sacramento State player to earn offensive player of the week honors twice in a career and only the second to do it in the same season, joining Donovan Sessoms on Sept. 16 and Oct. 21, 2024
• Ivan Ramirez also won two in his career: his first on Oct. 19, 2015 and a second on Sept. 26, 2016
• Giles was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on Sept. 22 -- the first to be so honored since Sessoms was named to the team and Sean Battistessa was an honorable mention pick in 2024
• Junior Hiroshi Yang was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week, while freshman Adrian Alvarenga was named the league's Rookie of the Week on Sept. 28 following their efforts in the team's win over UC Riverside
• Both awards were the first of their respective careers
• Yang also earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week a day later
• He is the fourth Hornet in the last three seasons to earn a spot on the team -- the most of any Big West school in that span