The Sacramento State women’s soccer team broke their three-game losing streak on Friday, beating Miami University Ohio 2-1 at Hornet soccer field.

“It feels amazing, I kid you not. We’ve been having meetings and trying to see what we could do,” midfielder Sarah Howard said. “Today it fell together.”

After being shut-out in their last two games, the Hornets (2-4-1) came out aggressively on both sides of the ball. Sacramento State’s offense was constantly on the attack, scoring in both halves and out-shooting their opponents 17-12. The Hornets’ defense swarmed around the ball allowing the Redhawks to take only seven shots in the first half and five shots in the second.

“We have a strong team, so I knew it was just a matter of time,” said head coach Randy Dedini. “Getting this win will hopefully give us a little bit of confidence.”

The Hornets’ first goal came from senior midfielder Sarah Howard. Howard’s shot looked like it wasn’t going to go in, but a little slip-up from Miami’s goalkeeper helped the ball find its way to the back of the net.

“The goalie fumbled it and pretty much put it in the goal for me,” said Howard. “I was really trying to put it in the mix in general, because if you would’ve seen it, it was an awkward angle.”

The Hornets’ second goal was recorded by senior forward Kayelyn Satkowski. Satkowski cut through two Redhawks defenders on the way to scoring her first goal of the season. Freshmen forward Jordan Carlberg was credited with an assist.

But there was some bad news for Sacramento State as starting goalie Jenny Lawrence left the game early with a knee injury. After jumping up for a save, Lawrence landed wrong and hurt her knee.

“It’s a scary situation because it happened when she landed,” Dedini said. “She heard a pop. In my experience, it’s never a good thing.”

The Hornets now look to freshmen goalkeeper Savannah Abercrombie to step in between the pipes. Abercrombie did well as a relief as she made four out of five saves.

“We know she has the talent to be a big time goalkeeper. It’s how consistent she can be and can she gain the confidence after just a single game to be our go-to goalkeeper,” Dedini said. “Hopefully she can, I know she has the ability.”

To cap off the weekend, Sacramento State won their second straight game by defeating Iona College 1-0 on Sunday. Defenseman Kara Taylor recorded her first career goal when she scored the game winning shot in the 63rd minute. Senior Sarah Howard was awarded the assist.

The Hornets’ defense held Iona to only six shots for the entire game. Freshmen Savannah Abercrombie made her first career start as goalkeeper and picked up her first career shutout with a single save.

The Hornets’ next opponent will be Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 26 in Bakersfield.

Felipe Molina can be reached at [email protected]