On a scorching Thursday morning at Hornet Soccer Field— host of yet another schedule change for the Sacramento State men’s soccer team due to excessive heat — the Hornets took a 2-1 win against Loyola Marymount. 

The Hornets played at home once again after Sunday’s 1-1 draw to Pacific. The LMU Lions came into this match after a 2-1 loss to UCSB. 

LMU started the match high-paced and kept the Hornets on their side of the field at the beginning of the match, but a calm and composed Hornet defense, allowed them to move the ball forward with ease. 

With momentum on their side, the Hornet offense kept LMU’s defense on their toes. Hornet sophomore defender Alejandro Padilla took advantage of this and sent a long ball to junior midfielder Francisco Magaña who put the ball behind the net in minute 16. 

Although LMU was down, they kept putting pressure and The Hornets stood their ground. Sac State went into halftime up 1-0. 

“The props doesn’t go all to me; it’s all the guys’ work, I just stand back there…” red shirt goalkeeper Edgar Guerra said. “Yeah I did a couple saves to keep the guys in the game. At the end of the day it’s a team effort.” 

Guerra made saves in the first half that allowed the Hornets to go up in the first half. He finished the game with four saves.  

Within the first five minutes of the second half, LMU got a corner kick and then there was a rebound, which allowed junior forward Marco Byers-Mora to put the ball into the back of the net. 

Due to the extreme heat, both teams were allowed a water break so players could stay hydrated as water breaks in between each half aren’t normally given. After the second water break, a couple of Hornets left the game due to injures. 

The Hornets put pressure on the Lions and were able to succeed after they got a corner kick. Junior forward Christo Cervantes was able to put his head onto the ball and scored late in the game. 

“I feel good about the goal, but more importantly, I feel good about the win,” Cervantes said, “We went down again for the second game in a row to 10 men. It doesn’t help us, but we found the grit and heart to battle back and to get the win” 

Due to the high physicality of the game, a handful of yellow cards handed to both teams, and the Hornets even went down a player within the last five minutes of the game losing senior defender Alejandro Alcantara, who was sent off after receiving a double yellow card. 

Sac State ended the game with four yellow cards and a red card; LMU had two yellow cards. 

Although Sac State went down a man, they were able to stay ahead and secure the win at home. 

“It’s a great win for us and under very difficult conditions,” said Head coach Michael Linenberger.  . 

As Sac State moved to 3-1-1 after the victory against the Lions Thursday, they’ll face Gonzaga next at home on Sunday, Sept. 11 with kickoff set for 12 p.m.