Hornets blank Dominican, tie Saint Mary’s
September 25, 2002
Finishing the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Dominican University of California on Sunday, the Hornets were able to find their offensive attack after coming away with a 1-1 tie in double overtime against Saint Mary’s College on Friday.
Junior forward David Fraser tied Friday’s game up in the 82nd minute, scoring the Hornets lone goal.
In a fierce battle, Diego Rovira of Saint Mary’s scored the first goal of the contest in the 38th minute.
“The game against Saint Mary’s was a dogfight; we played in a tough atmosphere,” sophomore forward Patrick Nelle said.
At the end of regulation the score was tied 1-1, and neither team could capitalize on scoring opportunities in the two overtime periods, leaving the game in a draw.
On Sunday afternoon at Hornet Field in 100-degree heat, Sac State triumphed over the Dominican Penguins, 2-0.
Sac State’s offense was in full-drive, attempting 29 shots, 17 of which were on goal, forcing Penguin goalie Ben Millar to make save after save.
The Hornet defense was virtually unbreakable. Dominican attempted four shots, with only two in the direction of freshman Matt McDougall’s goal.
“If we would have scored two or three goals in the first half the score could have been 10-0,” Hornet coach Michael Linenberger said.
Nelle scored the Hornet’s first goal in the 29th minute with an assist from midfielder Eric Martinez.
“From the beginning I saw gaps in the defense. I recognized their faults,” Nelle said.
The Hornets held on to their one-goal lead until Rodriguez sealed the game with under a minute to go in the game.
Rodriguez put the ball past Dominican goalkeeper Ben Millar after splitting two defenders. Millar kept the Penguins in the game stopping 15 Sac State shots.
The Hornets controlled the tempo of the game with crisp passing and good spacing, which led to many scoring attempts.
The Penguins were clearly overmatched with Sac State maintaining possession of the ball for the majority of the contest, although the Hornets were careful not to underestimate them.
“We can’t look at opponents as inferior. We came out in the first half dictating and dominating from the outset,” Linenberger said.
Converting on goal opportunities has been a challenge for the Hornets thus far this season.
McDougall and the Hornet defense held an opponent scoreless for the first time all season.
“As soon as we start finishing, watch out,” McDougall said.A Sacramento native, McDougall is a 2002 Jesuit High School graduate.
On Friday Sac State will take on No. 17 Loyola Marymount at Hornet field at 4:pm.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to play (Loyola Marymount). They are undefeated and we’re happy about playing the game at our field,” Linenberger said.
The Hornets next three opponents are nationally ranked.
