SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The final non-conference match takes the Sacramento State women's soccer team to the Bay Area for the second time this year, traveling to San Jose State for a 7 p.m. kick-off on Thursday (Sept. 17). The match will be streamed live on the Mountain West Plus network (subscription required).

THIS WEEK…
MATCH #8
WHAT: Sacramento State (4-1-2) at San Jose State (0-4-2)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026
WHERE: San Jose, Calif.
TIME: 7 PM
STADIUM: Spartan Soccer Complex
WATCH: Mountain West Plus ($)
LIVE STATS: SJSUSpartans.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | San Jose State | The Big West

BACK AMONG THE WEST'S BEST
• Despite suffering their first loss of the season, the Hornets are back among the West Region's best according to the latest IWSOC United Soccer Coaches polls following a week's absence
• Reaching as high as No. 7 in the West Region back on Aug. 25, Sacramento State enters this week's match at No. 10 in the region and are one of six Big West schools in the region's top 10 along with California Baptist (No. 1), Cal Poly (No. 2), Utah Valley (No. 4), Long Beach State (No. 6), and Cal State Fullerton (No. 7)

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 SAN JOSE STATE
• The Spartans enter the week at 0-4-2 overall and are coming off a 2-0 home loss to Saint Mary's on Sept. 13
• San Jose State's two results have come in a 2-2 draw with Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 27 and a scoreless draw with CSUN on Sept. 3
• Sacramento State will be the fifth Big West opponent for the Spartans this season
• SJSU is 0-2-1 at home in 2026
• Freshman forward Abigail Peterman has accounted for both of the team's goals in six matches off the bench, putting all five of her shot attempts on frame
• Overall, the Spartans have been outscored 10-2
• Junior goalkeeper Paige Fry has played all but 55 minutes in net, posting a 1.30 goals against average and 30 saves (.811 save percentage)

SERIES NOTABLES
• Sacramento State leads the all-time series with San Jose State, 12-9-3
• The Hornets have won each of the last two meetings by a combined 6-3 score, including a 4-2 decision at home last year
• Prior to last season's meeting, the two schools hadn't played since 2019
• Thursday's match will be the first between the two programs played in San Jose since 2016 -- a match won by the Spartans, 1-0, in double overtime
• That was the last in a string of three straight wins for San Jose State
• Sacramento State is just 4-7 on the road in the series
• The Hornets have lost the last three meetings in San Jose -- all three one-goal decisions -- dating back to a 2-1 double overtime win in 2010
• The four goals scored by Sacramento State in last year's meeting were the most scored by either team in the history of the series since a 5-0 Spartan win in 1996

CONFERENCE CALL
• Thursday's match against San Jose State will be Sacramento State's third against a Mountain West Conference opponent this year following wins over UC Davis and Nevada earlier this season
• The Hornets have won their last three matches against Mountain West opponents dating back to last season and are 6-3-1 against the league in the last 10 meetings dating back to 2018
• Sacramento State is a combined 35-52-11 against the current Mountain West lineup, having faced every school except Grand Canyon and New Mexico
• The 12 wins over San Jose State are the most against any one current Mountain West member

TWO FAST, TWO FURIOUS
• When Sacramento State scored in the 29th minute against Saint Mary's last week, it marked the first time that the Gaels had conceded a goal in 2026
• When the Hornets put two past them after Marely Velazquez Varela's first career goal in the 88th minute, it marked the team's fourth multi-goal match this season
• Last year, the Hornets scored two-or-more goals just three times while this year's total are the most since the 2024 squad scored multiple goals four times as well

STILL THE ONE
• For the fourth straight week, the Hornets will get to experience an extended break, playing only one match after facing Saint Mary's in their lone match last week
• After this week, Sacramento State returns to the grind, opening Big West play with two matches against UC Irvine (Sept. 23) and UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 26)

FIRSTS OF ALL
• A pair of Hornet freshmen tallied their first collegiate points in the loss to Saint Mary's
• Aside from Velazquez Varela's first career goal against the Gaels, newcomer Raegan Rossi tallied an assist on the score for her first career point
• Velazquez Varela became the seventh different Hornet to score a goal this year -- and the second newcomer along with teammate Mia Jackson to do so -- while Rossi became the third newcomer to register their first career point this year

WELCOME TO THE CHING DYNASTY
• There is no Hornet hotter than junior midfielder Candace Ching, who continued her torrid tear by scoring a goal and adding an assist against Saint Mary's last week
• The goal was her career-high fifth of the season and pushed her team-high point total to 11 thanks to the assist -- all coming in her first start of the season
• The five goals are the most by a Hornet since Kylee Kim-Bustillos finished with nine scores en route to a 21-point season in 2019
• Her eight career goals are the most of any active Sacramento State player

NOT 1, NOT 2...
• Ching has now scored in three straight matches for the Hornets after scoring twice in rapid succession against Southern Utah on Aug. 27 and adding the tying goal against Fresno State on Sept. 3
• She is the first Sacramento State player to score in three consecutive contests since Kim-Bustillos did so against California Baptist, San Jose State, and Toledo during that same 2019 campaign
• Of Ching's team-high 11 points, nine of those have come in the last three matches

HEY, ALEXA... SHOW ME SOME SAVES
• Having started the last three matches in lieu of the injured Delaney Timmons, sophomore keeper Alexa Malaspina has been busy helping keep the Hornets' tremendous start to the season alive
• Just one match after setting a career high with seven saves in a draw against Fresno State, Malaspina did herself one better with eight stops against Saint Mary's while facing a barrage of 20 attempts from the Gaels' offense
• The eight saves doubled her total from her first two starts of the year, entering the week ranked eighth in The Big West with 20 stops overall and third with 5.00 saves per match
• She is also seventh with a .769 save percentage and ninth with a 1.62 goals against 
• Malaspina's eight saves are the most by a Hornet keeper since Izzy Palmatier had 10 against Weber State on Oct. 12 of last season

AMONG THE BEST IN THE BIG WEST
• Ching has put nine of her 11 total shots on frame this year, ranking tied for fifth in the league
• Her five goals are second in The Big West, three off Long Beach State's Cherrie Cox's total
• Meanwhile, Ching's 11 points make her one of three players in the conference with double-digit points, standing third behind Cox (17) and Cal State Fullerton's Cassie Villanueva (12)
• Senior Ellie Farber's two game-winning goals this year are tied for the league lead

NOTHING BUT NET
• Sacramento State has outscored opponents by a 14-9 margin this year, powered by seven different Hornets who have found the back of the net 
• The 14 goals are quickly closing in on last season's goal total of 16 and enter the week tied for third in The Big West, while the Hornets stand fourth with 35 total points