The Sacramento State women’s soccer team played an inspired game Sunday beating Fresno State 1-0.

Sac State senior midfielder Linda Sanchez scored a goal in the 19th minute off assists from sophomore midfielder Rebeccah Phillips and senior defender Amber Dragomir.”It was actually total luck that I happened to be there,” Sanchez said. “The ball just kind of came to me and I kicked it in.”

Sanchez joked that Phillips got the assist even though she really just missed the ball. Sanchez, who happened to be the cover girl for the game program, said teammates were kidding her that it was going to be her day.

Sac State senior defender Mandi Siller was disqualified in the 83rd minute when she picked up her second yellow card of the game. In the 46th minute Siller and Fresno State junior forward Cortney Sobrero got tangled up by the Fresno State goal and both fell to the ground. Both players received a yellow card for the tussle. In the 83rd minute Siller picked up another yellow card for grabbing a Fresno State player.

“It was a lame yellow,” Siller said. “I’ve done worse stuff than that and gotten away with it.” Siller’s disqualification left the Hornets down a player for the final seven minutes, but they were able to hold the Bulldogs scoreless.

Sac State came out much more aggressively than they had in the two previous games, losses to UC Riverside and Nevada.

“The coaches basically came out and told us that we aren’t physical enough,” Siller said. Those comments seemed to light a fire under the team, as they kept the ball in Fresno State territory for much longer chunks of time than in the Hornets’ three previous games.

Things got a little testy in the second half with three yellow cards and numerous fouls called after the half. Sac State sophomore forward Amanda Gray also got called for a yellow card in the 29th minute.

Hornets freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Lawrence was flawless in the match saving a game-high six shots. Lawrence, playing with a broken left middle finger she suffered last weekend when kicked by a UC Riverside player, made several tremendous punch saves on balls that were lofted into the middle of the Sac State goal box.

“When the ball gets popped up like that it’s just much easier to punch it out than to try and head it or catch it, so that’s what I did,” Lawrence said. Sac State assistant coach Randy Dedini said the team was unsure if Lawrence would be able to play this week or next week because of her injury. “She begged us to let her play,” Dedini said. “She’s a true goalie.”

After coming out non-aggressive in the game last week against Riverside, Sac State has played two straight good first halves. Friday at Nevada the Hornets held the Wolf Pack scoreless until the 69th minute, before surrendering three goals, losing the game 3-0. The team made aggressiveness a top priority in practice this week as well as becoming more physical with their opponent.

“Fresno always plays physical,” Siller said. “So we made it a point to come out and be very physical.”

Sac State’s next game is against Texas-El Paso on Friday to start the UTEP Tournament. The Hornets will follow that with a game on Sunday against Mississippi State before returning home Friday, Sept. 23 for a game against Cal State Northridge.