SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior
Mia Jackson finished with a pair of goals in her Sacramento State debut while seniors
Lexi Schroeder and
Candace Ching added scores on Thursday evening, helping the Hornets hand Head Coach
Tim Strader a victory in his debut following a 5-2 triumph over Pacific in the season opener at Hornet Soccer Field.
Sacramento State won its season opener for the second straight year — both coming against the Tigers — and posted the most goals in an opening match since a 6-2 victory over Memphis back in 2000. Strader became the third Hornet head women's soccer coach to win their debut, joining Sandra Asimos (a 3-1 win over Arizona in the program's first-ever match in 1994) and Randy Dedini (a 4-0 win over Mount St. Mary's in 2007)
With the five goals, Sacramento State posted its highest scoring output since blanking Eastern Washington, 5-0, on Oct. 5 of last season.
Schroeder put the Hornets out in front just 10 minutes into the contest as her corner kick from the right side curled toward the line and deflected in off the Pacific goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. Jackson followed that score six minutes later in the 16th minute, taking a feed from Schroeder in traffic inside the 18 and punching home a right-footed shot for her first score of the day.
The 2-0 advantage lasted through the half before Jackson struck again just three minutes into the second period, taking the ball away from a Tiger defender and looping a shot from distance over the head of the Pacific goalkeeper that deflected off the back post and bounced in for the 3-0 advantage.
Jackson, making her Hornet debut after spending her previous two years at Troy University, made a splash in her first match in the green and gold, becoming the first Sacramento State player with a brace since Aubrey Goodwill did so in a 2-2 draw against Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 18, 2022.
Not going quietly, the Tigers broke up the shutout just a minute later as Makayla Marin-Valencia took a pass from teammate Nia Vela after a turnover and finished to the lower left side. Kaya Rosa then brought Pacific to within a goal in the 64th minute with her first of the year, sneaking a shot inside the upper left corner to make it 3-2.
However, miscues in the back by the Tigers put the match out of reach for the visiting side as a ball played across the top of the six by
Raegan Rossi was kicked in by a Pacific defender for an own goal while Ching turned a blocked clear attempt from the Tiger keeper into her first of the year, easily finishing into an open net in the 86th minute to cap the scoring.
For Schroeder, who led the team in scoring a season ago, it was her fifth career goal to go with four career assists, while Ching netted her fourth career score.
Sacramento State finished with a 12-10 advantage in shots, including putting seven of their attempts on frame to just four for Pacific, while junior goalkeeper
Delaney Timmons made two saves in her debut in net.
Of the Hornets 20 newcomers on this year's roster, 12 of them made their Hornet debuts on Thursday, including starts by Timmons,
Audrey Schlotfeldt,
Tanner Michael, Jackson,
Emily Harris, and
Leah Gimenez, along with appearances by
Jaz Chang, Rossi,
Kamryn Lee,
Katie Maxwell,
Harmony Taylor, and
Peyton Dunbar.
In addition,
Jules Colchico also made her Sacramento State debut after missing her first two seasons as a Hornet due to season-ending injuries.
With the season opener behind them, the Hornets hit the road for the first time in 2026 — albeit only a 20-mile jaunt — on Sunday (Aug. 16) for an 8 p.m. kick-off at Causeway rival UC Davis.
