It was an successful season opening weekend for the Sac State men?s soccer team, as they defeated Santa Clara, ranked number 2 nationally, 2-1 in double OT, and CSU Stanislaus 5-0.

The 2-0 start for Sac State is the best start the team has ever recorded (1991-present). Head coach Michael Linenberger only had positive things to say about the 2-0 start.

“It?s a nice feeling to start 2-0,” said Linenberger. “I was looking to get through the opening weekend 1-1, but 2-0 is even better.”

In the first game of the season, against Santa Clara, the Hornets were able to out-duel the Broncos of Santa Clara 2-1 in double overtime.

The game was scoreless going into the second half, when Jamil Walker of Santa Clara scored a goal in the third minute of the second half.

Santa Clara, who went undefeated last season until defeated by Indiana in the national finals, held the 1-0 lead before Hjalti Kristansson scored a goal with only 13 minutes left in the game.

The score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, forcing the game into overtime.

The first overtime of 15 minutes went scoreless, forcing the game to go into the final 15 minute overtime.

With less than 10 minutes left in overtime, Danny Gehm scored the game-winning goal. Gehm, who had just entered the game five minutes earlier, was able to score the goal unassisted.

“The bench was into the game,” said Gehm, a freshman forward. “I had been warming up a little while on the sidelines. The win felt good, really good.”

Many other players felt the same way with the end results.

“We were very ecstatic,” said sophomore defender Rob Skaggs. “Everybody?s playing real good together.”

“It was exhilarating,” Gehm said. “I?m gonna give ?em all I got.”

Junior goalie Chris Haustein, who came into the game in the second half and held Santa Clara scoreless, thought it was a team effort.

“It was a big win for the team and the school,” Haustein said. “The defense did well, and it was a group effort. We have a deep team where 18 or 19 players could start.” Linenberger reiterated the same point as his players.

“This is probably the biggest win in school history,” Linenberger said. “It was a tremendous win for us.”

It was a very defensive game against Santa Clara and that is how the game had to be played in order for Sac State to get the win.

“We played very safe against Santa Clara,” Linenberger said. “This gave us a chance to tie or win the game at the end.”

It resulted in a 2-1 victory for Sac State and at the end of the first weekend for the men?s soccer team, a 2-0 record. This is because two days later, the Hornets defeated CSU Stanislaus.

On Sunday, Sac State did not get off to a good start, unable to score against Stanislaus in the first half.

“It was tough coming in after a double overtime game the night before,” said Vjeko Odich, midfielder.

The second half of the game was a different story, as Sac State was able to put together five goals, earning a decisive shutout victory. The scoring for Sac State started early in the second half, as freshmanSam Sneed scored three minutes into the second half.

“It feels real good to come in and contribute,” Sneed said.

Less than a minute after Sneed scored the first goal of the game, Sac State came back and scored another goal by David Fraser, another freshman, who also assisted on Sneed?s goal. Linenberger was very pleased with his new players? performance.

“We are very pleased with our young guys, they are coming off the bench and giving us good production,” Linenberger said.

Once Sac State scored these goals, they did not let up on Stanislaus; instead they scored three more goals, to finish out the scoring. Juniors David Rios, Sean Luigs, and Gehm scored the final goals.

According to Linenberger, this was the easiest game of the year.

“This will be the worst team we will play this year,” Linenberger said. “The second half dictated the game, we made them chase us around.”

Goalie Chris Haustein was able to record the shutout, not allowing a goal and having six saves in the process.

The next game for the Hornets will be played Wednesday at 5 p.m. against San Francisco at Hornet Field.