The Sacramento State men’s soccer team and Cal Poly each came away with one point after a 0-0 draw Wednesday at Hornet Field.
Three games ago on Sept. 30, Sac State drew with UC San Diego 0-0. That was an entertaining scoreless draw.
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The game against Cal Poly was the exact opposite.
The Hornets struggled to create good quality chances like they’ve had difficulty doing for the majority of the season. Sac State did not record a shot on target in the first half and their first shot of the game came in the 31st minute.
“We’re still not dangerous enough going forward,” Sac State head coach Michael Linenberger said. “We hit the post once and we made their goalkeeper make one good save in the second half. It’s not enough. You have to create more chances.”
Although they did not have a single shot on target in the first half, the Hornets did have the best chance in the game at getting on the board when sophomore midfielder Hasan Alsakati’s shot hit the post in the 34th minute.
The Mustangs were not much better in the first half. They had one shot on target that did not pose much of a threat to Sac State junior goalkeeper, Mac Learned.
Cal Poly had some good opportunities to score, but their struggle to shoot on target Wednesday was the main reason they failed to score. Out of the 11 total shots they took, only two were on target.
The second half was much like the first. Both teams defended well and made it difficult for each other to have success when it came to attacking.
Sac State improved when it came to shots on target. They had two shots on target in the second half, including one in the 60th minute from senior forward Austin Wehner, which forced an incredible one-handed save from Cal Poly graduate student goalkeeper, Justin Siegel.
Cal Poly was once again limited to one shot on target in the second half like they were in the first. Just as Siegel was able to come in clutch, Learned did the same by making a crucial diving save in the 84th minute to keep the game tied and to earn his team a point.
The draw marks the ninth consecutive game the Hornets have failed to win. This is the longest winless streak Sac State has had since 1998, a season where they did not win a single game and finished with a record of 0-16-2.
Sac State has now failed to score a goal in three of their last four games and has gone seven consecutive games without scoring more than one goal in a game.
However, Sac State has improved defensively, specifically in Big West Conference play. They’ve played five games in the Big West and have only conceded more than one goal in a game once and have recorded a shutout twice including Wednesday against Cal Poly.
Junior defender Alejandro Padilla played a crucial part in keeping a clean sheet for Sac State. He played all 90 minutes on Wednesday.
“A clean sheet is always good, so I’m happy about that,” Padilla said. “I think overall, defensively we had a good performance as a team.”
An interesting storyline coming into the game was Alsakati facing his former school. Alsakati made the switch from Cal Poly to Sac State this year. He made 11 appearances for the Mustangs last season.
Alsakati has been a key player for the Hornets so far this season and has been a regular starter. He has started in all 14 games Sac State has played and he was on the pitch for 64 minutes against Cal Poly.
“I had a couple roommates that were playing and it’s always good to see them,” Alsakati said. “It kind of made the game a little bit more fun, playing people you used to play with and people you used to call friends.”
Sac State will remain at home for their next match against Cal State Fullerton at 4 p.m. Fullerton is currently in first place in the Big West standings and is coming off of a loss that saw their eight-game winning streak snapped.
