Before Sunday’s tilt between Sacramento State and UC Davis everyone knew it was a rivalry. The 90 minute match simply re-affirmed it. Amid physical play, Davis fan ejections and fouls-a-plenty, the Hornets came out on top by a score of 2-1.

In the 13th minute Sac State was looking good to get on the board first when junior forward Kayelyn Satkowski set loose a shot from the right side that was saved by a sprawling Megan Daws in goal. Daws’ big save kept the game a 0-0 tie. One minute later Aggies midfielder Lacey Cobb crossed a ball to the right side where forward Marisa Boge was waiting by herself. Her shot beat goalie Mandy Trojan to give Davis the quick 1-0 advantage.

In the waning moments before halftime the Hornets got a corner kick on the right side. Satkowski sent it in front of the net where midfielder Sarah Howard managed to get a foot on it. The ball spun off towards forward Katie McCoy who knocked it into the net with her heel.

“I was just trying to block the goalie,” said McCoy. “It was just a reaction shot when it came to me.” The goal was McCoy’s first of the season. Howard was credited with the assist. The 40th minute goal held up until halftime with the score tied at one.

The second half belonged to the Hornets as they had many opportunities to take over the game with a goal. In the 58th minute McCoy was tackled just outside the box according to referee Neal Rogers. The fans in attendance and McCoy thought it should have been a penalty, but the Hornets settled for the free kick.

From the 58th through the 61st minute Sac State was seemingly running an attack drill as the Davis defensive zone was threatened constantly.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the 78th minute when Trojan charged out of the net to make a save on a shot by Aggies forward Annie McAllister. Ironically, as was the case in the first half, just one minute later a goal was scored fueled by a big save.

This time it was Satkowski blasting one in past Daws as she found herself alone in the box with the keeper. Freshman midfielder Beverly Goebel played a pass perfectly to Satkowski’s feet to set up the clincher.

“I got a great ball played to me,” Goebel said. “I was just thinking ‘please get to her feet’ when I passed it.”

“I was thinking to myself ‘if I don’t finish this-‘” Satkowski said of the set up from Goebel. Luckily for the Hornets she did in fact finish it, putting the Hornets up for good. The goal was Satkowski’s second on the season. Her first came Aug. 29 in double overtime against Saint Mary’s.

Head coach Katie Poynter thought that the team again came out timid for the second time in three games this season. “We’re still a young team and I told the players at halftime that we were lucky to be tied,” Poynter said. “In the second half we kept possession and really showed how much we wanted it.”

The win pushed the Hornets’ record to 2-1 on the season while Davis fell to 1-1. It was the second straight season in which the Hornets defeated the Aggies. In 2005 senior defender Mandi Siller put away a goal in overtime to give Sac State a 1-0 victory at Davis. Two Davis fans were reportedly ejected from the game for inappropriate behavior.

The Hornets embark on a three game road trip beginning tomorrow at Idaho. They will play Washington State and San Jose State on the trip as well before returning home on Friday, Sept. 15 to meet Menlo at 3 p.m.

Benn Hodapp can be reached at sports@statehornet