Sacramento State women’s soccer was dealt a hard loss at Saint Mary’s, only letting one goal past in the first half but ultimately falling behind for a 4-0 final score.

The Hornets struggled to keep possession of the ball from the beginning of the game. They did manage to push past Saint Mary’s defense a couple of times after the Gaels dominated the first few minutes, but it wasn’t enough. A Gaels penalty shot that found its way past freshman goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier scored the first goal.

“Unfortunately, we gave up a [penalty kick],” Palmatier said. “I was able to guess the right side but unable to get my hand down there quick enough to push it away to the safe zone.”

After the first goal, the Hornets kept up a strong defense. Palmatier shook off the penalty and made three saves before the second Gaels’ goal, six minutes into the second half.

“I was really confident with making decisions,” Palmatier said. “To be able to control the box in the first half, get some high balls, some crosses and be able to punch them out made me really happy.”

Freshman midfielder Ellie Farber provided strong defense in the first half, while sophomore midfielder Madelyn Dougherty provided strong offense. Dougherty gave Sac State its first of two shots on goal.

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“As long as I stayed on whatever girl I was on, I was able to win defensively,” Farber said. “I’m happy with a certain amount of things I was able to do today. Just frustrating how the game ended.”

Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said they switched formations in the second half to match Saint Mary’s better. While this change was not the only reason for their defensive struggles, Palmatier said taking too long to adapt to formation changes definitely played against them a little bit and is something they need to improve on.

Sac State kept its composure and pushed back right up to the last minute. Palmatier was subbed out by senior goalkeeper Mia Shalit 23 minutes into the second half and made two saves before the fourth goal got past her.

“We have a team full of freshmen and sophomores and it just seems like these are growing pains that we’re going through,” Dedini said. “I was happy with the overall effort level, and I thought our team did a great job staying positive throughout.”

Every team has room for growth and improvement, and as a younger team, the Hornets still have some kinks to work out. They have struggled in their last three games but have come together as a team to support each other.

“We’ve been really trying to stick together as a family,” Palmatier said. “Pushing each other’s positives even when mistakes happen so we can continue to move forward in the right way instead of dropping and being discouraged when things don’t go our way.”

Sac State had a rough game and didn’t push back hard enough against Saint Mary’s in top form.

“We have some things to work on, but at the end of the day, we just weren’t good enough,” Dedini said.

The Hornets have one more game to put it all together before conference play begins. They will be up against California Baptist at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.