The Sacramento State women’s soccer team took a hard 1-0 loss from Portland State in their third conference game despite the skill with which they played.
This frustrating game brings Sac State’s conference record up to an even 1-1-1, a solid start with definite room for improvement.
The Hornets started the game strong, pushing onto the Vikings’ half and keeping it there for much of the first half. They drew three early fouls, followed by three back-to-back corner kicks, expertly set up by junior defender Erika Tilford. Sac State managed two shots in those two minutes, keeping Portland State on their toes, but both fell just off target.
Sophomore midfielder Madelyn Dougherty was right in the middle of all three corner kicks and almost managed to get a shot.
“On corner kicks I usually start off near the goalkeeper and I’m kinda just trying to get in the way, create some chaos and then just wait for that second ball,” Dougherty said. “I had a shot, but it deflected off one of the girls.”
After those first tumultuous minutes, gameplay stayed fairly steady without too many big upsets until the 30th minute. Three of the Hornets’ starters had to be subbed out in quick succession due to injuries.
“Losing a couple of our starters during the game didn’t help,” Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said. “They’re good players and they make a difference for us.”
Freshman forward Teysha-Rey Spinney-Kuahuia, who has been an offensive powerhouse this season and was carried off the field in the game against Northern Arizona two weeks ago on Sept. 22, only sat out 15 minutes and rejoined the game at the beginning of the second half.
Freshman midfielder Ellie Farber, another Hornet who has made her mark this season, also returned to play in the second half. Junior forward Danna Restom, however, did not rejoin the game.
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Just before the Viking goal in the second half, junior forward Abigail Lopez also had to step off the field due to injury. Luckily, she was able to walk off and was only out for 15 minutes before subbing back in for the final eight minutes of the game.
Despite a couple of injuries, Sac State continued to outplay Portland State even into the second half. Two notable players were junior midfielder Ali Fuamatu-Ma’afala and junior forward Ariana Scholten.
Fuamatu-Ma’afala held her team together from the middle of the pitch, connecting passes, intercepting Viking plays and setting up passes for the forwards to take to the Viking goal.
Scholten stayed wide and brought the crowd to the edge of their seats with two beautiful crosses that were just shy of the target. One hit the side of the goal and the other landed on top.
“I think it’s only up from here and the way we played today was amazing,” Fuamatu-Ma’afala said.
The Viking goal was scored off a corner kick in the last 20 minutes. Corner kicks are usually chaotic and often the easiest way to get the ball past the goalkeeper. This one was no different. The ball landed right in the middle of the chaos and Portland State got a lucky shot.
“We dominated a lot in possession and I personally feel like we outplayed them, but in the end, a goal is a goal,” Dougherty said.
Sac State has definitely improved since the beginning of the season. It was clear against Portland State that they have been working hard and learning from those hard out-of-conference losses.
“The conference is always tough,” Dedini said. “You just gotta find a way to win games. I would rather have played ugly and found a way to win than play pretty.”
The Hornets’ next game is against Eastern Washington on Friday, October 6 at 3 p.m.
