SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With the official opening whistle for the 2026 season a little more than a week away, the Sacramento State women's soccer team takes the field to face someone other than themselves on Thursday (Aug. 6), making the short trip to the Bay Area to take on Santa Clara in an exhibition match at 7:30 p.m.

THIS WEEK…
EXHIBITION MATCH
WHAT: Sacramento State (6-11-1, 2-5-1 Big Sky in 2025) at Santa Clara (8-6-5, 4-2-5 WCC in 2025)
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026
WHERE: Santa Clara, Calif.
TIME: 7:30 PM
STADIUM: Stevens Stadium - Buck Shaw Field
WATCH: No Live Stream Available
LIVE STATS: No Live Stats Available

THE HORNETS, QUICKLY
• Sacramento State is coming off a 2025 season that saw the Hornets finish 6-11-1 overall and 2-5-1 in its final season in the Big Sky Conference
• The six victories -- and four non-conference wins -- were the most since the 2019 squad finished 11-2-6 overall and won six matches outside of Big Sky play
• The Hornets return only six letterwinners and one redshirt from last season's squad, with five of those six letterwinners seeing significant time in the starting 11 a season ago
• Bolstering that group is a rather sizable class of 19 newcomers that features seven transfers from four-year programs, three transfers from the junior college ranks, and nine true freshmen for 2026
• Sacramento State returns its leading scorer from a year ago in senior Lexi Schroeder, who finished with three goals and a pair of assists for eight points
• All-Big Sky second-team selection senior Ellie Farber also returns after scoring a goal and a pair of assists while starting 17 of 18 matches
• Junior Jaety Mandaquit, fresh off a 2025-26 academic year that saw her play both soccer and basketball for the Hornets, returns after scoring twice in 18 starts
• In net, there will be a new face with the departure of all three goalkeepers from last season's roster as Utah junior transfer Alexa Malaspina and Indiana State sophomore transfer Delaney Timmons will battle for time between the pipes

THE HORNETS' NEW BENCH BOSS
• Head Coach Tim Strader enters his first year at the helm of the Sacramento State women's program after having spent 2025 at Texas A&M and the previous seven years at one of the Hornets' newest conference rivals in California Baptist
• Strader is the fifth head coach in program history, taking over for Randy Dedini
• Strader also spent four years as the head coach at Indiana Wesleyan (NCCAA) from 2014-17 and was an assistant at another Big West school, CSUN, from 2012-13

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 THE BRONCOS
• Santa Clara is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw the Broncos post an 8-6-5 overall record and a 4-2-5 record in West Coast Conference play to tie for sixth in the final league table
• Last season, Santa Clara closed out its schedule unbeaten in its final six matches (3-0-3) — all in conference play — with wins over Oregon State, San Francisco and San Diego in that span to go with a trio of 1-1 draws against Gonzaga, LMU, and Saint Mary's
• The Broncos return three of their top four scorers from last year's squad, led by junior forward Mailin Orozco, who led the team in goals (6) and points (14) in 19 matches
• Senior forward Kennedy Schoennauer finished second on the team with five goals and three assists for 12 points in 18 matches, while sophomore midfielder Adee Goulden added three more scores and an assist for seven points
• Santa Clara returns two of the three goalkeepers that saw time between the pipes last season in junior Amaris Franco and sophomore Ally Harrison
• Of the two, Franco played the most minutes (540), posting a 1.67 goals against average and 24 saves with a .706 save percentage in nine appearances, while Harrision had a 0.80 goals against average in five matches with 18 saves and a .789 save percentage and a 3-0-2 overall record

TRADING THE SKY FOR THE WEST
• The 2026 season will be the Hornets' first season in the Big West Conference, officially becoming a full-fledged member of the league on July 1
• Sacramento State left the only conference that is has ever known, competing as a member of the Big Sky Conference from 1996-2025 -- just two years after Sacramento State began sponsoring the sport at the Division I level in 1994
• All of the university's varsity sports -- other than football (MAC), gymnastics (MPSF), indoor track and field (MPSF) and rowing (WCC) -- now compete under the Big West banner 
• Previously, the Hornets had competed as affiliate members of the Big West in men's soccer (2012-25), beach volleyball (2016-25), baseball (1997-2002), and softball (1997-2002)

COMING SOON
• Following Thursday's exhibition, the Sacramento State women's soccer team officially kicks off the 2026 campaign with two matches next week, hosting Pacific on Thursday (Aug. 16) at 5 p.m., followed by an 8 p.m. kick-off at UC Davis on Sunday (Aug. 16)