Hornet Soccer Field has never had much of a mystique to it, but so far this season, it’s been a nightmare for opposing players of a soaring Sacramento State men’s soccer team.

Sac State remained undefeated at home on Sunday with its fourth consecutive home victory, beating the UNLV 2-1.

The win was their second in a row, third in their last four matches, and all the Hornets’ (4-7-1, 3-3-0 Mountain Pacific) wins have come at home.

“We have such a good atmosphere here at home when all of our friends and family show up to support us, which really brings our spirits up and makes us play a lot better,” sophomore defender Eric Ortiz said. “When we’re on the road, fans are behind the net, heckling us and trying to bring our morale down,”

The home-field advantage for the Hornets is definitely a plus, but it also helps to have a player on as much of a roll as No. 13 is.

Sophomore midfielder/forward Ryan Rhoads scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season, with all four of the goals coming in the last four games that he’s switched to the forward position; his play on Sunday sparked the Hornets’ early offensive outburst.

In just the third minute of the match, junior midfielder Andrew Tamm sent a through ball towards the goal, making it a race to the ball between Rhoads and UNLV goalkeeper Peter Clitheroe. Rhoads got to the ball first, which was outside the box, and sweep-kicked it into the lower left post past a diving Clitheroe for the goal.

“It was a great pass to where only I could get it,” Rhoads said. “As long as we got the goal it doesn’t matter.”

-Sophomore forward Eli Millan scored with just 1.6 seconds left in the first half, finishing a play started by junior forward Ricky Rodriguez.

“(Head coach Michael Linenberger) told me I could score before the half, and I felt like I could too, so with about 10 seconds left, I saw my opportunity,” Millan said. “I got the ball, made a fake, and put it in; I felt really good because it was in the last few seconds and it gave us a bigger lead.”

In the 57th minute, Rod Dyachenko got a cross from Deshawn Woolery, and scored on a kick past Sac State goalkeeper Matt McDougall, tightening the game up, 2-1.

However, Sac State withstood the UNLV barrage of shots and held on to the 2-1 victory, thanks to a variety of acrobatic saves by junior goalkeeper Matt McDougall.

“Our players worked really hard to make it a game at the end, even with one player down; we created a lot of scoring opportunities but only got one goal out of them,” UNLV head coach Barry Barto said. “We gave a few (goals) away at the beginning and that was difficult.”

The win gave the Hornets a 4-7-1 record, with all four wins coming at home; McDougall says that the improved play by the Hornets has been the result of an entire team effort.

“It’s been the whole team stepping up; they picked me up when I was struggling early in the season and we pick up each other as a whole,” McDougall said. “We’ve dug through the tough times.”

After last season’s heartbreaking loss to rival SDSU in the playoffs, Sac State came into Friday’s game with redemption in mind, and they got it, winning 2-0 at Hornet Field.

-Sophomore defender Utodi Madu got things started for Sac State on the offensive side; Madu sent a free ball towards the center of the box, right to Rodriguez who flicked the ball to Rhoads. Rhoads finished the play off with a shot to the upper right side of the net for the goal, past the outstretched arms of SDSU goalkeeper, Tally Hall.

Senior forward Patrick Nelle floated a perfectly placed volley right to a wide-open Tamm, who deposited the ball into the open net for his second goal of the year, sealing the 2-0 shutout win for the Hornets.

The two teams have had their issues with one another since the playoffs last year, when SDSU beat the Hornets on their home field.

For head coach Michael Linenberger, Friday’s win is one he’ll always remember.

“Today’s win was one of the most satisfying wins in my coaching career; I know there was some bad blood there,” Linenberger said.

The Hornets play next their next game, another crucial conference match-up, at home on Friday at 4 p.m. against one of the top conference teams, Denver who recently knocked off No. 3 New Mexico.