The Sac State women’s soccer team dominated Menlo College on Sunday, shutting out the Oaks 6-0 at Hornet Field to earn its fourth straight home win.

The Hornets scored early and often in the victory over Menlo, which is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The NAIA is an organization that is much smaller than the NCAA, the association the Hornets belong to.

Sophomore Danielle Holloway opened up the scoring in the 8th minute as she knocked in her second goal of the season with a header off of an assist from junior Sarah Howard. That was the start of an eventful five minutes for Holloway, who would follow up with another goal three minutes later off of a cross from senior Katie McCoy.

Holloway then quickly returned the favor, setting up McCoy with a one-on-one situation versus Menlo goalkeeper Samantha Hoffart in the 12th minute. McCoy would beat Hoffart and bury her fifth goal of the season to give the Hornets a 3-0 advantage heading into halftime.

The Hornets limited the Oaks to one shot in the first half, despite the fact they had substituted eight of their 11 starters before halftime.

“I was trying to keep as much of our team as fresh as possible,” said Sac State coach Randy Dedini. “It was a great opportunity for experience and playing time for some of the players who haven’t been playing as much.”

“Defensively the Hornets are solid,” said Menlo coach Zack Masters. “They didn’t give us many opportunities.”

The score would remain unchanged in the second half until McCoy upped the lead to four with an unassisted goal in the 59th minute. McCoy did not start the half but came in when junior Tiffany Fraser left the game early in the second period with an ankle injury.

Dedini said that although Fraser has had ankle problems in the past, he expected her to be ready for the team’s next game on Friday.

The Hornets continued to play strong late into the game, and freshman Erin Tarantino netted her first goal of the season in the 79th minute thanks to an assist from sophomore Ashley Forbes.

Junior Rebeccah Phillips added a goal of her own with a successful penalty kick in the 82nd minute. The goal would be the Hornet’s last and they would win by the final score of 6-0.

The game marks the most goals the Hornets have scored this season and gives them their third shutout of the year. All three shutouts have come at home where the Hornets are averaging 4.25 goals per game.

“(Dedini) has done a great job of getting the players to play together,” said Masters. “My hat’s off to the Hornets.”

“We just came in with the attitude that we we’re going to win,” said Phillips.

Junior Jenny Lawrence got her first start this season at goalkeeper for the Hornets, and recorded her seventh career shutout. She was aided by a Hornet defense that limited the Oaks to two shots for the game.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in (Lawrence),” said Dedini.

And although sophomore goalkeeper Mandy Trojan did not start for the first time this year, Dedini said “there is definitely not a goalkeeper controversy right now.”

“I still feel Mandy’s our number one,” said Dedini.

The Hornets out-shot Menlo 29-2 for the game, by the far their widest such margin this season, and improve to 4-2-1. They ended their three-game winless streak in which they lost back-to-back games to UC Davis and Saint Mary’s.

“We were in a bit of a slump,” said junior Missy Matzen. “We had to show that we’re still a team to be reckoned with.”

“It was very important for us to get back on track and get some confidence back,” said Dedini.

Menlo drops to 2-5-0 with the loss, which is their fifth straight.

The Hornets will play their next game Friday against Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners are 2-6-0 this season and have been shut out in all six of their losses. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Contact Fernando Gallo at [email protected]