It was a rude homecoming for the Sacramento State women’s soccer team Friday.

For 35 minutes things were looking pretty good. The next 55 minutes, however, were not nearly as fruitful. The Hornets took a 1-0 lead over the Matadors of CSU Northridge in the 14th minute on a goal from sophomore forward Katie McCoy. The goal was McCoy’s first of the year and just the team’s third goal all season.

“I got a good pass from (senior Linda Sanchez) and I was able to get enough on it to get it in the goal,” McCoy said. What followed was an all out blitz that led to a blow-out win for the Matadors by the score of 4-1.

Northridge midfielder Devon Nizich led the way early, helping the team start many scoring opportunities on the wings. In the 35th minute Northridge midfielder Mary Ortega got loose in front of the goal and banged home a shot to tie the score at 1-1 off assists from midfielder Brianna Monka and forward Kristal Phillips. Just one minute later Matadors defender Sara Davis popped a free kick from the right side up for grabs into the goal box where a scramble in front of the goal ensued. The ball found the back of the net after the scrum, giving the Matadors a 2-1 lead. According to Sac State head coach Katie Poynter the ball was tipped, but Davis was given credit for the goal. On the play, Hornets goalie Jenny Lawrence was hit in the face by a Northridge player, but no foul was called.

Down 2-1 at the half coach Poynter made it clear to the team that they were still in the game.

“I told them there was plenty of time left and that we needed to limit the second half mistakes,” Poynter said. According to Poynter the second goal should never have happened because the defense made positioning mistakes on the play that were inexcusable.

The second half started the same way that the first had ended. In the 55th minute Northridge midfielder Kristy Krohn tickled the net with a goal of her own to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Matadors. In the 76th minute of play the scoring was capped off with another goal from Krohn, this one a header. Krohn’s second goal effectively ended the Hornets chances in the game, putting the Matadors up by the score they would later win by, 4-1.

While all three Sac State goals have come in the first half of games this season, coach Poynter still pleads with the team to play more aggressively to start out. Friday’s game was a step in the right direction, with the game’s first goal coming from Sac State.

“We played in the first half like I’ve been begging them to play,” Poynter said. “I think in the first half we may have taken advantage of (Northridge’s) travel fatigue, but in the second half their quick transitions killed us.”

The post-game mood was somber, with many players questioning the team’s heart after the game. Sac State sophomore forward Kayelyn Satkowski, who entered the game in the first half after an injury to midfielder/defender Natalia Romo, said that the team didn’t show enough heart in the second half.

“We just didn’t have enough heart after they scored their first goal,” Satkowski said. “We let them get free on the outside too much.”

Satkowski, who is the team’s speed-burner, was one of the few bright spots for the Hornets, setting up many opportunities on the wings. Unfortunately for Sac State, none of the opportunities led to goals.

McCoy agreed with Satkowski and explained that “we didn’t show enough heart and we mentally broke down after they scored their first goal.”

The Matadors improved their impressive record to 7-1 on the season and have now outscored their opponents 26-7 on the season. Northridge’s only loss on the season came against Fresno State, a team Sac State beat 1-0 on Sept. 4th. Sac State’s record falls to 2-4-1 on the season while being outscored 11-3 so far.

There were four yellow cards in the match, three of them went against Northridge. With just a minute left to play Sac State midfielder/defender Katie Burton received a yellow card for pushing Northridge midfielder Tina Lutizetti after the two got tangled up on a play.

At halftime, Sac State defender Sarah Moses played goalie to anyone willing to spend a dollar for hurricane relief. Many lined up and took aim at Moses, all for a very good cause.

Sac State’s next game against San Jose State begins at noon this Sunday at Hornet Soccer Field.