Clinched! Sac State women’s soccer lands spot in Big Sky playoffs
Second straight comeback win for the Hornets
(FILE) Hornet senior defender Darian Louthan chases a ball on the sideline at Hornet Field against Montana Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Louthan has 13 starts in 17 games played this season.
October 16, 2022
The Hornets women’s soccer team came back again— scoring two goals in the final six minutes, defeating the Idaho Vandals 2-1 in Moscow, Idaho Sunday afternoon.
The win clinches Sac State’s place in the Big Sky playoffs.
This is the second come-from-behind victory in just two days for Sac State after beating Eastern Washington 2-1 Friday.
The Hornets equalized in the 84th minute with a header by senior midfielder Arriana Nino from a cross by senior Aubrey Goodwill. Then — at the 89th minute — Goodwill once again sent in a powerful cross, this time headed-in by sophomore forward Danna Restom off the crossbar hitting the ground and crossing the goal line to give the Hornets the lead in the closing stages.The second goal caused dissent by the Vandals’ coaching staff. The goal by Restom just barely crossed the goal line and the coaches questioned the call.
Without video review in Big Sky college soccer, the goal stood. The whole ball needs to cross the line for it to be a goal. Replays showed the ball clearly crossing the goal line.
Coach Randy Dedini said that staying calm and collected was once again the driving force in the win just like it was in Friday’s comeback against Eastern Washington.
“We just didn’t panic,” Dedini said. “We played well in the first half and I feel like they scored a lucky goal. All we needed to do was just keep pushing. It was definitely like last game, where we just stayed calm.”
Senior Aubrey Goodwill started the game as a defender butDedini made adjustments to push his team forward, allowing Goodwill to get two assists and give the Hornets the win.
“We adjusted really well,” Dedini said. “We knew Idaho liked to play the ball in the air, so we just kept on the ground on defense, forcing them not to cross. In the second half, we pushed a couple of players forward and that put us on the front foot.”
It was an interesting atmosphere in Moscow. The Vandals play in a domed arena. On top of that, there were football lines all over the artificial turf field— something the Hornets are not used to. But those difficulties did not hinder their second-half performance.
With the win, Sac State clinches a spot in the Big Sky playoffs. Idaho was the top-ranked team in the Big Sky, so it was a huge win for Sac State.
Junior goalkeeper Mia Shalit, who made four saves, commented on the win and the clinching of the playoffs.
“We’re just so excited,” said Shalit.
Next game against Northern Arizona on Friday is the final regular season game and will be purely for playoff seeding positions. That game takes place at 7:00 p.m. PST in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Big Sky playoffs start next Wednesday, Nov.ember, 2nd, in Greeley, Colorado.
