This was supposed to be our year.

There was a magical, confident vibe floating through the stadium.

It was supposed to be the initial great triumph for a first-year coach. It was supposed to be a highlight in the collegiate careers of Hornet seniors.

It was supposed to set a victorious tone for the younger players. It was supposed to be a night that a new generation of Hornet fans would never forget.

Instead, it was history proving too tough to beat.

Sacramento State, energized under first-year head coach Steve Mooshagian, couldn’t halt a three-year losing streak against an overachieving UC Davis team.

The Hornets, after scoring the potential game-winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining, seemed to have found an answer for the frustrating neighbor that continues to make them look bad.

Hollywood couldn’t come up with a more gut-wrenching ending than what took place before a crowd of over 15,000 energized Aggie and Hornet fans.

Sac State jumped out to a 14-0 lead early behind two brilliant touchdowns by star running back Tyronne Gross, but the Aggies came back with 17 unanswered points of their own. The remainder of the game played back and forth like a boxing match — Davis delivering the final blow with 18 seconds left.

Trailing by four with less than two minutes left on the clock, fourth-and-goal for Sac State and both crowds on their feet in nervous anticipation, backup quarterback Blake Mori threw a strike to receiver Jason Girley to send the Hornet side into frenzy. But the defense couldn’t hold down Doug Flutie-like Davis backup quarterback Jon Barragan or backup running back Antar Mahasin, as they silenced the crowd with a quick 76-yard winning drive.

Sac State can take solace in playing tough until the end in one of the more entertaining games in recent history. Deep down though, the Hornets know that they could have, and should have, propelled over Davis both on the scoreboard and in local support.

Once Davis made the move to Div. 1-AA the importance of the game escalated.

Over the course of the next three or four years, the school that is able to show the greater success — both against each other and overall — will steal the neighborhood spotlight. And Davis has the lead.

A win for the Hornets would have most likely pushed them into the Div. 1-AA Top 25. Instead, the loss drops them below .500 and pushes them back in their climb for respect.

Sac State had their chance. They didn’t get it done and Davis once again had the last arrogant, obnoxious laugh.

Need a “we’ll get ’em next time” type of speech?

In spite of everything, this isn’t J.T. Snow getting thrown out at home plate to end the season. This isn’t Rich Gannon losing to Kordell Stewart and the Bears.

Next season both Fred Amey and Ryan Leadingham will be seniors and Tyronne Gross will be a junior. Mooshagian will have another year to mold his program and the sting of this season’s loss will burn more than ever before.

We’ll get em’ next year.

Agree, disagree or want to discuss the demise of the U.S. Women’s soccer team?

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