SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Junior
Hiroshi Yang and senior
Zac Giles each posted three-point nights and junior
Sean Battistessa put home his first goal of the year to cap the scoring as the Sacramento State men's soccer team posted a 3-1 victory over rival UC Davis on Thursday, giving interim head coach
Matt McDougall his first career win.
The Hornets won their season opener for the first time since a 2-0 shutout at San Jose State in 2019 and snapped a two-match skid against the Aggies, winning for only the second time in the last 12 head-to-head meetings between the Causeway rivals. It was also Sacramento State's first win over UC Davis at home since a 1-0 triumph in 2015.
It took only eight minutes for the Hornets to find the back of the net for the first time in 2026 as Giles tried to knife his way through the Aggies' defense only to be taken down from behind in the box, drawing a penalty kick from the referee.
After a review confirmed the foul, Yang stepped to the spot and calmly put home his first of the year — and the third of his career — for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the 39th minute when Sacramento State doubled its lead. Freshman
Henry Hedden played a ball ahead for Giles who, again, found another gear. Starting a run from near the midfield stripe, Giles out-raced a defender and split two more before finishing to the left side to make it 2-0 in favor of the home team.
It marked Hedden's first collegiate point while Giles scored his third career goal.
Sacramento State then made it a three-goal lead in the 68th minute as Yang played a ball down the left side, finding a streak Giles in space. Giles then played a ball across the top of the six-yard box where Battistessa beat his defender to the spot and tapped home his first of the year — and the seventh of his career — to make it 3-0.
UC Davis would claw one of the goals back with a score in the 82nd minute to break up the shutout, but the Hornets were already out of reach.
The Aggies held a 21-13 shot advantage, putting nine of those on frame, but senior goalkeeper
Lucas Bost was up to the task, making a career-high eight stops to pick up the win. Bost's total surpassed his previous best of seven stops against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 4, 2025.
Yang finished with a team-high four shot attempts, while Battistessa and Giles added three apiece.
Sacramento State remains at home to close out the week, hosting No. 21-ranked Grand Canyon on Sunday (Aug. 23) at 5 p.m.
