The Sacramento State men’s soccer team ended a historic winning streak at home, but players and coaches are looking to keep working and improve their away record from past seasons.

The Hornets went 23 games straight without losing at home. The streak lasted nearly three years up until a few weeks ago after losing to Oregon State at Hornet Field.

“We won a lot of special games here. The first loss I’ve had here (since entering the university) was against OSU,” said defender Matt Linenberger. “I think we had one of the longest in NCAA history.”

According to the NCAA record books for soccer, Sac State would be tied with three other teams for the No. 14 spot, which would round out the 16 teams listed. It is tied with Saint Louis, Norte Dame and Old Dominion at 22 games straight.

Some notable home streaks in professional sports are in the world of soccer and football. For example, the Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League went 86 league matches at home without a loss. The streak lasted from March 20, 2004, to Oct. 26, 2008.

The New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has an active streak of 29 wins at home dating back to 2006, which is an NFL record.

Linenberger said they were upset they lost against OSU, but they are going to keep moving forward and not get too down over it.

“We want to take something from it,” Linenberger said. “We’re proud of it, now it’s time to start a new streak.”

Midfielder Almog Strikowski said he was not happy the streak ended.

“I felt very pissed. You win some, you lose some,” Strikowski said. “We’re very proud because we are a tough team to beat at home.”

 The team now will continue to move forward after the loss.

Assistant coach Matt McDougall said he was pleased with the team for its accomplishment despite losing to the Beavers.

“Give Oregon State credit,” McDougall said. “Everyone is tough to play at home. Streaks are made, and are made to be broken.”

Sac State made Hornet Field a tough place for the opposition for the last three years. Matt Linenberger said one of the main reasons the team plays so well at home is because they know the territory and feed off the crowd.

“There’s also a good crowd and a lot of energy here,” Matt Linenberger said.

Head coach Michael Linenberger praised the team for its hard work and effort in compiling the streak, but said it need to refocus on the season.

Linenberg said the team was never caught up in the streak, only the game at hand.

“Our goal is to make sure (the OSU game) is our only loss at home,” Michael Linenberger said.

Michael Linenberger said it is important to play well at home.

“We’ve always made an emphasis to be fired up to play at home, to play entertaining soccer and to build a fan base,” he said.

The Hornets are looking to improve their road record and will have that opportunity with an upcoming road trip. Sac State boasted a road record of 2-5-2 in 2010.

So far this season, their road record is 2-2-1. McDougall said their first away record is important since they beat the No. 19 ranked school in the nation at the time.

Linenberger said it’s important it is to play well in away games.

“We’ve always struggled on the road. We’ve improved in recent years,” he said. “If you come back from the road with two losses or a tie, you didn’t get enough from the trip.”

Both Linenberger and McDougall said the team needs to win all home games and at least split its road games to contend for the championship.

This year they will be playing eight at home and 10 away games, and could play more road games if they advance far in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at the end of the season.

Daniel Morales can be reached at [email protected].