It was an up and down weekend for the Sac State men?s soccer team as they split their Southern California road swing, losing to UC Santa Barbara 6-0 on Sunday afternoon and beating CSU Northridge 3-2 in double overtime on Friday night.

Friday night?s win over Northridge gave Sac State its first road win of the season.

Sunday?s game was far different than Friday’s win, as Santa Barbara scored three goals in each half, and in the process shut-out Sac State (4-4-1).

Santa Barbara allowed Sac State only seven shots, with just three of those seven being shots on goal.

Head coach Michael Linenberger felt that the outcome wasn?t as bad as the score indicated. “We created some dangerous chances, but we knew we wouldn?t be able to come out with as much intensity as we did Friday night,” Linenberger said.

Santa Barbara was able to put together a 2-0 lead when they scored back-to-back goals in the 17th and 18th minutes of the game. That would be all Santa Barbara would need, as Sac State suffered their fourth shutout of the season.

“I was a little bit disappointed in our play,” Linenberger said. “But Santa Barbara had one of those unbelievable scoring days.”

Jaime Ambriz, who scored 2 goals, led Santa Barbara?s scoring output. Other scorers for the Gauchos of Santa Barbara were Brandon Meeks, Brian Reardon, Anthony Dimech and Lucas Dalgleish.

Friday night?s game against Northridge was a better outcome for the Hornets, as they won 3-2 in double OT.

Sean Luigs was able to put the ball through the net in the 106th minute to give Sac State the win. The goal, a shot from deep was able to go through the net when the ball slipped through the goalkeeper?s hands when he went to collect the ball. Luigs was able to put the ball in the net from two yards out.

“It was a nice gift, a little bit of luck goes there,” Coach said. “We?ll take the luck.”

Just before the end of regulation play, with just seven minutes left, Edwin Miranda of Northridge tied the game at 2-2, forcing the game into overtime, where Luigs would score the game-winning goal.

Linenberger felt it was just a matter of time before Northridge would put one in the goal, but felt his team was able to gain control after the tie.

“We took the game over after the tie,” he said. “It was our best played game since we played Santa Clara (first game of season).”

Northridge got on the scoreboard first when Tony Ortega scored in the ninth minute giving Northridge a 1-0 lead.

That lead would not last very long, because two minutes later in the 11th minute Matt Scammacca would tie the game at 1-1, giving Scammacca his first goal of the season. Sac State then tacked on another goal just before the half in the 40th minute by David Fraser, giving Sac State the 2-1 advantage.

Joey Hills, the Hornets goalie who had seven saves, earned his first victory of the season. Sac State will take to the road once again and play Denver and Air Force this weekend, these games being Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches.

This series will be a little more crucial for the Hornets, and they will need to come in with a different mindset. The games will be played in Colorado where the higher altitude may affect their endurance.

“This may be the toughest road trip in the country,” coach said. “We will go into the first game looking to try and get a win.”

7 of their final 9 games of the season will be MPSF matches, games that will be important for the Hornets soccer team.