Sacramento State men’s soccer accomplished its first ever Big West conference matchup as it defeated UC Irvine 2-1 in front of 1,670 people at Anteater Stadium.

Senior goalkeeper Bryan Oliver was a main contributor to the Hornets’ win as he posted seven saves out of the eight shots Irvine put on goal. Oliver had six of these saves in the second half alone.

The Anteaters took charge in the 22nd minute when midfielder Gor Kirakosyan shot the ball into the top right corner of the net to make the first goal of the game and the only goal for his team.

The Hornets took eight minutes to recuperate before senior Alex Lopez found junior midfielder Gabe Silveira for the team’s opening Big West goal, which put Sac State on the board to tie the game.

The game played on with shots and fouls until junior forward Isaac Ikyurav came through with an unassisted tiebreaking goal shot from the right side of box into top left of the goal.

During Sac State’s previous game against UNLV, Ikyurav scored his first two goals of the season so tonight’s goal marked his third of the season and second game-winner.

Sac State took only three shots on goal, which was just enough to put the Hornets in the lead as Anteater goalie Elliot Farmer could stop only one of the three.

Senior forward Max Alvarez had six of the Hornets nine shots.

Not only does this win mark the first Big West men’s soccer win in school history, but the Hornets were able to conquer the two-time defending Big West regular season champions.

The Sac State men’s soccer team (4-4-1, 1-0-0) will make its way to Northridge to face the Matadors Sunday at 1 p.m.

Jillian Kweller can be reached at [email protected].