Some members of the Sacramento State men’s soccer team do the unglamorous things that don’t show up in the box score, the little things that make it possible for their team to win, they do the dirty work.

Junior goalkeeper Matt McDougall, who sees literally everything that happens out on the field, says that although some of the players don’t get as much attention as others, it’s the guys who are looked past that make the difference, especially the defensive core.

“Marcos Mercado and (Juan Carlos Cortez, Jr.) on defense, they’ve being doing the dirty work all year,” McDougall said. “They don’t get the goals and assists, but we don’t win without them.”

In many cases this year, the defensive core has saved goals without the luxury of using its hands.

Against Denver on Friday, sophomore defender Ismael Echeverria stood right in front of a vacant net and took a rocket off his chin to stop an easy goal, which would’ve given Denver a 3-0 lead before the half.

The Hornets struggled early in the year, winning just one of their first eight games.

Now, with the team jelling and playing up to its potential, the positives are coming into focus, with a solid defense and timely goal scoring becoming regular fixtures in every game.

Sophomore defender Utodi Madu, who took a break from playing soccer with the Hornets last season, has been a defensive stalwart all this year in the backfield. Along with sophomore defender Jesse Manton, they take much of the pressure off of the offense.

“He doesn’t get all the glory, but Utodi has been awesome on defense all season,” McDougall said. “He’s always picking us up.”

Madu knows the importance of defense, but it’s the ways the defense helps the offense that matters most.

“I try to make it easier on the offense because if we allow one goal or less, then one or two goals by the offense will win it,” Madu said.

Head Coach Michael Linenberger, in his 16th season with the Hornets, has always stressed fundamentals, and junior midfielder Marco Ramirez is a player who just knows how to play the game of soccer the right way.

“Marco Ramirez is just one of our unsung heroes; he covers more ground than any player on the field and he tackles and never shies away from the ball; he’s our iron man,” Linenberger said.

Sophomore midfielder/forward Ryan Rhoads, who has been in the spotlight as of late because of his five-game, five-goal offensive tear, is another player who has stepped up to contribute.

“With Rhoads up front, defenders can’t focus on only one of our guys anymore,” senior forward Patrick Nelle said. “He’s so good that the other team can’t double team some of the other scorers, because now, they have to focus on him, which creates scoring opportunities for the rest of us.”

In addition, the players that come off the bench at the end of each half to give their tiring team a new spark provide those invaluable intangibles; most don’t recognize them, but they are sorely missed by the team when not there.

Sophomore defender Eric Ortiz is put into the game before the end of the first and second halves as a defensive specialist, trying to hold his team’s lead or keeping the opponent’s lead from getting any larger.

Sophomore midfielder Brandon Baggett supplies speed and energy off the bench; he’s a table-setter, but is dangerous enough to get his team some momentum with a goal before the end of each half.

Nelle said, “Everyone’s playing as a unit and our unsung heroes make it that way, contributing everywhere; as long as we win, it doesn’t matter who’s scoring.”