SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Now one of only three unbeaten schools remaining at the top of The Big West table entering the week, the Sacramento State women's soccer team rests up for its second straight single-match week.

The Hornets trek down Highway 99 for a Thursday (Sept. 3) match-up under the lights at Central Valley rival Fresno State at 7 p.m. For those who can't make the trip, the match will be streamed live over the Pac-12 Conference's YouTube channel at youtube.com/pac-12.

THIS WEEK…
MATCH #6
WHAT: Sacramento State (4-0-1 overall) at Fresno State (0-4 overall)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026
WHERE: Fresno, Calif.
TIME: 7 PM
STADIUM: Bulldog Soccer Stadium
WATCH: Pac-12 YouTube Network
LIVE STATS: GoBulldogs.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Fresno State | The Big West

(STILL) AMONG THE BEST IN THE WEST
• Despite extending its unbeaten streak to start the season to five matches with a win over Southern Utah, Sacramento State fell one spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division I West Region poll, entering the week at No. 8 after coming in at No. 7 last week
• The Hornets are one of six schools from The Big West in the top 10 -- five of those accounting for the top six

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 in 2024
• This is Schroeder's first year as a captain

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
• The Bulldogs have struggled out of the gate to start 2026, dropping all four of their matches without scoring a goal
• Sacramento State will be the third consecutive opponent from The Big West for Fresno State, which has fallen to Long Beach State (5-0) and UC Santa Barbara (4-0) in its last two contests
• Thursday marks the Bulldogs' first match since the faced the Gauchos back on Aug. 23
• All told, Fresno State has conceded 15 goals while being shutout thus far this season and out-shot by a 65-27 count
• Junior forward Tatiana Saunders leads the team with six shot attempts
• Freshman goalkeeper Jewelisa Gomez has played the majority of minutes (211:47) in net this season, posting a 4.67 goals against average and 11 saves
• Junior Jessie Reiss has played 148 minutes in two starts with a 2.43 goals against and six saves

SERIES NOTABLES
• Thursday marks the 23rd all-time meeting between the Hornets and the Bulldogs dating back to the 1995 season
• Fresno State leads the series, 12-7-3
• This is the second straight year that the two will meet following a four-year hiatus, with the Bulldogs posting a 6-0 win in Sacramento last season
• Fresno State is unbeaten (1-0-2) in the last three head-to-head meetings, outscoring Sacramento State by a 9-3 count in those contests
• The Hornets' last win in the series came in 2017, posting a 2-1 win in overtime at home
• Sacramento State has historically struggled on Fresno State's home field, going 2-8-2 on the road in the history of the series 
• The Hornets' last win in Fresno came in 2014 by a 2-1 score

CHING NETS BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS
• For the first time in her career, Candace Ching was named The Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Aug. 31) following her heroics in the Hornets' win over Southern Utah
• Ching becomes the second Sacramento State player honors with a weekly award this year, joining teammate Mia Jackson (Aug. 17)
• The Hornets' have now won multiple offensive weekly awards in the same season for the first time since 2019 when Kylie Kim-Bustillos, Tiffany Miras, and Camila Fonseca accomplished the feat as members of the Big Sky Conference

WANNA BE STARTIN' SOMETHING
• A bit of history was made last week following Sacramento State's win over Southern Utah as the Hornets tied the school record for the best start through five matches set by the 2000 squad (4-0-1)
• A win Thursday at Fresno State would give this year's team the title of the best start in school history as the 2000 team started the year 4-0-2 following a scoreless draw against Pacific
• Sacramento State completed an unbeaten month of August for only the third time in school history along with the 2000 (3-0) and 2009 (2-0-1) teams
• The Hornets have lost their last three September openers since a 3-0 win over Nevada in 2021

STILL THE ONE
• For the second straight week, the Hornets will get to experience an extended break, playing only one match after facing Southern Utah in their lone match of last week's schedule
• In fact, Sacramento State will finish the non-conference portion of its schedule with single-match weeks, facing Saint Mary's on Sept. 10 and traveling to San Jose State on Sept. 17 before opening play in The Big West on Sept. 23 against UC Irvine

NOTHING BUT NET
• Sacramento State has outscored opponents by a 11-5 margin this year, powered by six different Hornets who have found the back of the net 
• The 11 goals are quickly closing in on last season's goal total of 16 and enter the week tied for the most in The Big West along with Long Beach State
• Individually, Sacramento State has a trio of goal scorers among the top 10 in the league as junior Candace Ching is tied for second with three, while senior Ellie Farber and junior Mia Jackson are tied for fourth 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 the team's 2-1 victory at 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 the league lead and tied for eighth in the NCAA entering the week, one behind the national leaders

CHA-CHING!
• Ching scored her second and third goals of the season to aid the Hornets' comeback against Southern Utah -- the first brace of her collegiate career and the second by a Sacramento State player this year (Mia Jackson vs. Pacific)
• The 3:23 between goals for Ching were the fastest two goals scored by the Hornets since Micaela Romo and Aryana Martinez scored 2:10 apart in a 5-0 win over Eastern Washington at home last season
• It is the first time that the Hornets have had two players with a brace in the same year since 2022 when Abigail Lopez (at Pacific) and Aubrey Goodwill (at Cal State Bakersfield) did so

RALLY TIME!
• When Southern Utah scored just after the 40-minute mark to take a 1-0 lead against Sacramento State, it marked the first time that the Hornets have trailed all season after having scored first in each of its first four matches to start the year.

HEY, ALEXA
• Sophomore keeper Alexa Malaspina made her Sacramento State -- and Division I -- debut in relief 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
• She then made her first career start in the win over Southern Utah, playing all 90 minutes and finishing with a save

ANOTHER FIRST
• Freshman Marely Velazquez Varela made her collegiate debut a memorable one, playing 35 minutes and credited with her first career assist on Candace Ching's game-tying score in the win over Southern Utah
• In doing so, the San Diego native became the eighth Hornet player -- and the first freshman -- to log a point this season