Matt McDougall and the Hornet men’s soccer team shut out the Dayton Flyers 1-0 on Friday in a rough and tumble game to cap off a solid week at Hornet Soccer Field.

The senior goalie McDougall, who came into the game one save shy of setting the Sacramento State record for saves in a career, came up with two saves while his defense frustrated the Flyers all evening. The Flyers only recorded six shots, two of which were on target.

“I’m past the whole save thing,” McDougall said. “I’m just glad that we got the win, the defense was unbelievable tonight.”

On the other side of the ball, the Hornets did just enough. Marco Ramirez, senior, scored a goal in the 41st minute of the match when sophomore Lucio Orellana squeaked the ball past the back line of the Dayton defense.

“I didn’t even see where the ball came from,” Ramirez said. “I just got it and put it in the net.” The match featured few scoring opportunities for either team. It did, however, provide many shoving matches and bodies hitting the dirt.

“Physical play is typical of Midwest soccer,” coach Mike Linenberger said. “I just told the guys not to worry about the refs and just worry about ourselves.”

Sac State was able to persevere and keep their cool throughout the second half while the Flyers, who dropped to 1-1-0, continued to complain to the officials.

Friday’s win improved the Hornet’s record to 2-1-0 and followed a 2-1 victory over Oregon State on Monday night, which marked the Hornets first victory over a Pac-10 foe since 1999. The next test for the Hornets will be the Long Island Tournament in New York beginning Sept. 16 against Adelphi and play again on Sept. 21 against Long Island University.

Last season the Hornets didn’t record their first victory away from home until the final game of the season. This season, in their only road contest, the Hornets lost 3-0 to Saint Mary’s.

“We need to figure out a way to win on the road for us to be successful,” Linenberger said.