SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One of four unbeaten teams remaining in The Big West entering the week, the streaking Sacramento State women's soccer team slows down a bit with only one match on the docket this week.

The Hornets host new/old Big Sky Conference member Southern Utah on Thursday (Aug. 27) at 3 p.m. at Hornet Soccer Field in only their second home match of the year. The match will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.

Please note the change in start time from the originally scheduled 5 p.m. to accommodate the Thunderbirds' travel plans.

THIS WEEK…
MATCH #5
WHAT: Southern Utah (2-2 overall) at Sacramento State (3-0-1 overall)
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PM
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Southern Utah | The Big West

(STILL) AMONG THE BEST IN THE WEST
• Following its unbeaten start, Sacramento State jumped up two spots in the United Soccer Coaches Division I West Region poll, entering the week at No. 7 after coming in at No. 9 last week
• The Hornets are one of six schools from The Big West in the top 10 -- all standing among the top seven in this week's poll

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAINS!
• Seniors Ellie Farber and Lexi Schroeder have been named team captains for the 2026 season
• Farber is now a three-time team captain after earning the honor for the first time as a sophomore in 2024
• This is Schroeder's first year as a captain

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH
• The Thunderbirds enter the week at 2-2 overall after splitting a pair of matches against The Citadel (W, 1-0) and in-state rival Utah (L, 3-0)
• Southern Utah is in its first season of its second stint as a member of the Big Sky after playing 10 years as a member from 2012-22
• Thursday marks the Thunderbirds' fourth road match in their first five contests to start the 2026 season and kicks-off a run that will see them face three members of The Big West in their next four
• SUU lost its top three scorers off of last season's squad that finished 3-12-3 overall and 2-7-1 in the Western Athletic Conference
• Freshman forward Gracen Blieschke leads the team with three points on a goal and an assist, accounting for one of the team's three goals this year
• Freshman goalkeeper Tatum Trout has played all but 45 minutes between the pipes this year, posting a 1.76 goals against average and 12 saves
• Head Coach Steven Lindquist is in his first season at the helm after having been a member of the staff for the last five years

SERIES NOTABLES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Southern Utah, 6-4
• Nine of the team's previous 10 head-to-head meetings came as Big Sky rivals from 2012-21
• The two schools have not met since Sept. 19, 2024, when the Thunderbirds posted a 2-1 win on their home field
• Thursday marks the first meeting in Sacramento between the two programs since a 2-0 Southern Utah win in 2021 -- the Thunderbirds' first win in Sacramento in five chances
• Five of the 10 all-time meetings have ended in a shutout, with three more decided by a single goal

WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHING
• Sacramento State's 3-0-1 start to the 2026 season is the program's best in 17 years since the 2009 Hornets opened with the same record through four contests en route to a 3-0-2 start
• The program's best start came during the 2000 campaign when Sacramento State opened 4-0-2 through its first six matches

NOTHING BUT NET
• Sacramento State has outscored opponents by a 9-4 margin this year, powered by six different Hornets who have found the back of the net 
• The nine goals are already more than halfway to last season's goal total of 16 and enter the week as the most by any school in The Big West
• Sacramento State also shares the league lead with 21 points and ranks fourth with 39 shots
• Individually, senior Ellie Farber and junior Mia Jackson are tied for third in the league with two goals apiece

WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER
• Both of Farber's goals this season have accounted for game-winning scores as the senior netted the winner on a penalty in a 1-0 win at UC Davis and accounted for the winning score in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Nevada
• Thanks to those two scores, four of Farber's six career goals in her four years as a Hornet have been game-winning tallies -- just one shy of a spot in the school's career top-10 list
• Farber's two game-winners are tied for fourth in the NCAA entering the week, one behind the national leaders

FROM THE SPOT
• When Farber buried the Hornets' goal from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win at UC Davis, it marked Sacramento State's first penalty attempt -- and make -- since Erika Tilford converted against Eastern Washington on Oct. 6, 2023

TWO MORE TO THE LIST
• Jaety Mandaquit and Tierra Pickell became the two latest Hornets to find the back of the net this season, scoring their first goals of the year at San Francisco and at Nevada, respectively, last week
• The score was Mandaquit's third career goal after scoring twice in 2025, while Pickell netted her second career score

NO TIME TO WASTE
• Of the Hornets nine goals this season, two of those have come in the first 10 minutes of the match with four coming in the first 16 minutes
• Mandaquit's goal at the 5:13 mark of the first half at San Francisco was the fastest by a Hornet since Candace Ching scored 49 seconds into a 1-0 win at Portland State on Oct 27, 2024, and the quickest in a match overall since Sacramento State netted an own goal against San Jose State on Sept. 7, 2025

HEY, ALEXA
• Sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Malaspina made her Sacramento State -- and Division I -- debut in relief on Sunday at Nevada, playing the final 54 minutes against the Wolf Pack and making four saves
• Those stops matched the most by a Hornet goalkeeper this year, tying Delaney Timmons' total at UC Davis in a 1-0 win