SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State women's soccer goes in search of its first Big West victory of the year this week, hosting UC Riverside and trekking to Southern California to take on Long Beach State in week two of league play.

The Hornets and Highlanders kick-off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 30), while Saturday's match against The Beach will be played under the lights at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 1). Both matches will be streamed on the ESPN+ platform.

THIS WEEK…
MATCH #11
WHAT: UC Riverside (2-7, 0-2 Big West) at Sacramento State (4-3-3, 0-1-1 Big West)
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
TIME: 3 PMhttp://beachlivestats.statbroadcast.com/
STADIUM: Hornet Soccer Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: HornetSports.com
TICKETS: HornetSports.com

MATCH #12
WHAT: Sacramento State (4-3-3, 0-1-1 Big West) at Long Beach State (6-1-4, 0-0-2 Big West)
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026
WHERE: Long Beach, Calif.
TIME: 7 PM
STADIUM: George Allen Field
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: LongBeachState.com

GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | UC Riverside | Long Beach State | The Big West

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 UC RIVERSIDE
• The Highlanders enter the week with a 2-7 overall record and an 0-2 mark in Big West play
• UC Riverside has lost its last three matches, closing non-conference play with a 1-0 loss to Northern Colorado before dropping matches by 2-0 scores to conference rivals Cal State Fullerton and California Baptist
• UCR's last win came on Sept. 6 at home against North Dakota by a 2-1 score
• Wednesday's match marks the Highlanders' fifth on the road this year, posting a 1-3 record away from home and losing their last two
• Freshman defender Albertine Faye is one of five UCR players to score a goal this season and leads the team with three points
• Sophomore midfielder Finley Aghassi has attempted nearly a third of the team's 68 shots, taking 21 by herself and standing as the only Highlander with double digits
• Junior goalkeeper KaMia Elliott has played all but 45 minutes in net for UC Riverside, posting a 1.41 goals against average and 29 saves in nine starts

SERIES NOTABLES
• Wednesday marks the sixth all-time meeting between Sacramento State and UC Riverside, with the Hornets holding a narrow 3-2 lead in the series
• Sacramento State won the last meeting, 1-0, in Sacramento back in 2023, but that was the first match against one another since 2008
• The Hornets have won the last two matches, posting a 1-0 win in 2008 prior to that 2023 victory
• All five meetings between the two schools have ended in shutouts, with four ending in a 1-0 result
• The only aberration was a 3-0 victory by UC Riverside in 2005 in Sacramento -- the Highlanders' last win in the history of the series
• Wednesday marks the second straight match between the two in Sacramento with the Hornets winning two of the previous three

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
• The Beach enters the week with a 6-1-4 overall record and an 0-0-2 mark in league after drawing at UC Santa Barbara (2-2) and Cal Poly (1-1) last week
• Long Beach State, which hosts CSUN on Wednesday before welcoming Sacramento State, is 3-1-1 at home this year, suffering its first loss on Sept. 12 in a 5-1 decision against Utah
• The Beach is second in the league with 21 goals and has scored first eight times in 11 matches
• Senior forward Cherrie Cox leads the Big West with 12 goals and 26 points overall, putting 21 of her 34 shots on frame for the year
• Sophomore forward Ameera White is also a league-leader, sharing the top spot with seven assists
• Senior goalkeeper Aurora Schuck has played the majority of minutes in net, posting a 1.06 goals against average and 32 saves (.780 save percentage)

SERIES NOTABLES
• Saturday marks only the fifth all-time meeting between Long Beach State and Sacramento State and the first-ever match as Big West rivals
• The Beach leads the series, 2-1-1, but the two schools haven't met since the 2011 season -- a 3-0 Long Beach State victory
• The Hornets won the first-ever meeting between the two programs back in 1998 by a 2-1 score at home
• Since then, Long Beach State posted a 2-1 win in 2004 and battled to a scoreless draw in 2010 in addition to the 2011 result
• Saturday marks the fourth-straight match between the two schools to be played in Long Beach

BE QUICK, BUT DON'T HURRY
• Senior co-captain Ellie Farber wasted little time in getting the Hornets on the board in their inaugural Big West match against UC Irvine last week
• Farber's third goal of the season came just 1:44 into the match against the Anteaters -- just 20 seconds shy of a spot in the top 10 quickest goals in school history
• The strike was Sacramento State's fastest goal of the season and the quickest since Candace Ching scored 49 seconds into a match at Portland State in 2024
• Farber now ranks second on the team in both goals (three) and points (seven)
• In her career, Farber has seven goals and nine assists for 23 points -- the most points and assists of any active Hornet and the second-most goals behind only the eight scored by Ching

FIRST THINGS FIRST
• Farber's opener against UC Irvine marked the sixth time in 10 matches that the Hornets have scored first this season, tied for the third-most in The Big West entering this week's matches
• UC Santa Barbara leads the league with nine (in 11 matches) and Long Beach State is second with eight (in 11 matches)

WELCOME TO THE CHING DYNASTY
• There is no Hornet hotter than junior midfielder Candace Ching, who continued her torrid tear with an assist on Farber's goal against UC Irvine
• The helper was her second of the season, extending her team-high point total to 12, while scoring at least one point for the fourth time in the last six matches
• Ching's 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
• Of Ching's team-high 12 points, 10 of those have come during her six-match run
• Meanwhile, she has put 10 of her 18 shot attempts -- both tops on the team -- on frame

CROWN JULES
• It's been a season of firsts for sophomore Jules Colchico, whose Hornet career has been beset by injuries that have kept her on the sidelines for the last two seasons
• Finally making her collegiate debut in the opener -- and taking her first career shot -- against Pacific on Aug. 13, Colchico tallied her first career point with an assist on teammate Ellie Farber's goal against UC Irvine
• She became the 11th Hornet to tally a point this season and the fifth do collect the first point(s) of their respective careers

LONG TIME COMING
• Four seasons ago, goalkeeper Hayley Hartsburg joined the Sacramento State women's soccer program as part of a sizable freshman class for the Hornets
• Last Thursday at San Jose State, the Clovis, Calif., native officially made her Division I debut, making four saves and facing 18 shots against the Spartans
• She followed that up with a career-high six stops in the draw with UC Irvine and added three more saves while facing 14 shots against UC Santa Barbara, not allowing a goal during the run of play against the Gauchos, who scored the only goal of the match on a second-half penalty

NOTHING BUT NET
• Sacramento State has outscored opponents by a 15-13 margin this year, powered by seven different Hornets who have found the back of the net 
• The 15 goals midway through the season are quickly closing in on last season's goal total of 16 and enter the week fifth in The Big West, while the Hornets stand sixth with 39 total points

AMONG THE BEST IN THE BIG WEST
• Ching has put 10 of her 18 total shots on frame this year, ranking tied for ninth in the league
• Her five goals are tied for third in The Big West, seven off Long Beach State's Cherrie Cox's total
• Meanwhile, Ching's 12 points make her one of seven players in the conference with double-digit points, standing tied for fifth behind Cox (26)
• Senior Ellie Farber's two game-winning goals this year are tied for second in the league
• Mia Jackson's four points against Pacific and Ching's four against Southern Utah are tied for third on the league's single-match list
• The two goals by Jackson and Ching in those matches are tied for second in the league behind only Cox's hat trick against Fresno State for Long Beach State
• Jaety Mandaquit's six shots against UC Irvine are the most by a Hornet in a match this year and rank tied for fourth among Big West players
• Alexa Malaspina's eight saves against Saint Mary's are tied for ninth on the league's single-match list, while her seven against Fresno State are tied for 15th