It was Senior Day at Hornet Field on Sunday, and with it came one of the best matches the Hornets have played all year.

But the extra effort wasn’t enough to dethrone No. 2 New Mexico, as it clinched its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference title on Sacramento State’s home turf, winning a 1-0 thriller.

The Hornets gave a formal thank you and goodbye to three key senior players: defenders Marcos Mercado and Juan Carlos Cortez, Jr. and forward Patrick Nelle. Welcomed with a brief ceremony, the three took the field for their last conference home game in front of a boisterous home-crowd of 400-plus fans.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, the celebration at the onset wasn’t a precursor for much celebrating during the game, as Sac State was held in check offensively for the entirety of the match.

In just the 10th minute of the game, New Mexico’s Lance Watson got things rolling for the Lobos.

Jeff Rowland sent a back pass to Watson at the top of the penalty box, and Watson finished the play with a hard shot to the low near post, just out of the reach of Hornet goalkeeper Matt McDougall.

“Once they scored, then we started battling,” Nelle said. “We picked it up the rest of the way but missed some of our chances.”

Throughout the match, tempers flared for both teams, but only Sac State got any yellow cards, three in total but hard tackles coming from both sides.

“We only have a couple games left, so why save anything?” Mercado said. “I put everything out on the field.”

Junior midfielder Andrew Tamm had a chance to tie the game up late when New Mexico goalkeeper Andrew Weber was out of goal, but Tamm missed high right.

McDougall had a match-high eight saves, and two came in succession as he thwarted any hopes of New Mexico opening up a big lead.

Nelle paced the Hornets with three shots on goal and Cortez added two. In the end, none would reach the back of the net, though, and the Hornets lost their final home conference game 1-0, only their second home loss of the season.

“I’m pleased with the performance of our team; we were dangerous in our attack and it was a game we played for pride,” head coach Michael Linenberger said. “(New Mexico) is a very good team, but it didn’t look like they knew they were in for a battle today.”

The Hornets finish out the season against San Jose State Thursday afternoon.Though their playoff chances were extinguished last week, Senior Day was to pay tribute to the three players that gave the program everything, every time they stepped out on the field.

“I’m sad it’s over and coming to an end, but we still have two games to go and I can’t let myself down,” Cortez said.

“I enjoyed it and got what I wanted; I just loved playing soccer here,” Mercado said.

“It’s the end of a long career, but I’m glad I left a mark on the program,” Nelle said. “But I’ll be back in the stands in years to come.”