SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Having had less than a week together on the field since officially reporting to campus on Aug. 3, the Sacramento State men's soccer team gets a quick look at a team NOT wearing green and gold this weekend, traveling to the Bay Area for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off at Santa Clara on Saturday (Aug. 8).

THIS WEEK…
EXHIBITION MATCH
WHAT: Sacramento State (2-12-4, 1-6-2 Big West in 2025) at Santa Clara (6-5-7, 3-3-3 WCC in 2025)
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 8, 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

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

HORNETS AT A GLANCE
• Sacramento State is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw the Hornets finish 2-12-14 overall and 1-6-2 in Big West Conference play
• The Hornets return 14 letter winners, but just three starters off last season's roster while welcoming 10 new faces -- five of those transfers
• This year's roster of 10 newcomers matches last year's list of new faces
• 11 of the team's 13 goals scored return for 2026, led by Big West All-Freshman Team selection Allbranly Gue, who led the team in scoring with three goals and two assists for seven total points in his collegiate debut season
• Seniors Zac Giles and Nick Strangio also found the back of the net twice
• In net, senior Lucas Bost split time with the departed Andres Rosales in 2025, posting a 2.00 goals against average and 36 saves in nine matches (eight starts)

NEW MAN IN CHARGE
• Sacramento State men's soccer alum and long-time program assistant Matt McDougall was named the Interim Head Coach of the Hornets on July 17 following the announcement that long-time head coach Michael Linenberger would retire prior to the start of the season
• McDougall has been a mainstay on the Sacramento State sidelines for more than two decades, first as a student-athlete (2002-05), then as an assistant (2006-13), assistant head coach (2014-15), and associate head coach (2016-25)
• Linenberger had spent 38 years on the sidelines with the Hornets -- 36 of those as head coach beginning with the 1989 season which made him the longest-tenured head coach (of any sport) in school history
• He was also one of only four to hold their position for more than 30 years: Kim Hughes (women's gymnastics, 34 years); Debby Colberg (women's volleyball, 32 years); and John Smith (baseball, 32 years)
• At the time of his retirement, Linenberger's 36 years as head coach ranked sixth in the nation among active head coaches and was one of only four coaches to spend every season at one school among the top 10 longest-tenured head coaches

BENCH BOSSES
• Joining McDougall on the sidelines is assistant coach Hector "Keko" Grajeda, who is entering his second year on staff and his first in a full-time capacity
• Northern California native Erik Centeno returns to his roots as the program's second assistant after playing one season at Pacific before being drafted by Atlanta United FC with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft
• Centeno spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with Atlanta United 2 -- the parent club's side in the USL Championship -- making his professional debut on March 12, 2022, against Louisville City
• He then signed with the USL Championship side Birmingham Legion for one season

NEW-LOOK BIG WEST
• Now officially competing as a full-fledged member of the Big West Conference after playing as an affiliate member of the league since entering the conference in 2012, this year's Big West lineup for the Hornets will look a little different
• With only three soccer playing members on the men's side in the new-look Pac-12 Conference, 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, league newcomer California Baptist, along with 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 now features the Hornets, newcomer Utah Valley, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara
• Sacramento State faces each of its Big West rivals once along with Pac-12 crossover games against Gonzaga (Oct. 7), UC San Diego (Oct. 14), and Oregon State (Oct. 21)
• 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 SANTA CLARA
• The Broncos are coming off a 2025 season that saw them finish 6-5-7 overall and 3-3-3 in West Coast Conference play to finish fifth in the league table
• Santa Clara returns its top three scorers from the 2025 season, led by the duo of senior midfielders Niv Berkovitz (16 points) and Will Wiersdorf (15 points), who each found the back of the net six times a year ago
• Junior forward Simon Diagana led the team with five assists en route to nine points on the year to rank third on the team
• All told, the Broncos return 18 of its 23 goals scored last season
• In net, senior goalkeeper Jackson Ozburn returns after starting 17 of the team's 18 matches in 2025, posting a 1.08 goals against average and making 48 saves (.738 save percentage) to go with seven shutouts

COMING SOON
• Following Saturday's friendly against Santa Clara, the Hornets will have two more exhibition matches in preparation for the upcoming campaign, traveling to Stanford on Aug. 12 for a 3 p.m. kick-off and hosting Division II Menlo College on Aug. 15 at 5 p.m.