Sacramento State women’s soccer enters the Big Sky Conference play with a losing record, their next game is against the Idaho Vandals in Moscow, Idaho on Friday.
The Hornets have two wins and two ties from their home games, but have lost four out of their five road games.
“Every game, we’ve improved and done well in terms of building our team culture,” junior midfielder Madelyn Doughtery said.
The Hornets averaged 10 shots per game, and 31 of their 90 shots were shots on goal. They have struggled to get the ball in the net, only scoring 7 goals in their first nine games of the season.
“We need to always be on the same page, and we need to get some fricking goals,” redshirt senior midfielder Cassandra Herrman said.
The Hornets have been outscored by their opponents 7 to 13 in the first half of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Ellie Farber and senior midfielder Abigail Lopez currently lead the team, with 2 goals scored each. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier has 47 saves, with 13 goals allowed.
Going into the remaining eight games of the season, the Hornets feel well prepared and are focused on finishing their season on a strong note.
“Our coaching staff, specifically Coach Chris, is a really detailed scout for us,” Dougherty said. “It’s really helpful in terms of figuring out what the other team’s strengths are, how we can kind of play off them but also still bring our own style of play to compete with a team.
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Sac State heads into the Big Sky Conference with the fourth best overall record of the conference. They are one of three schools that have yet to win a road game, but also one of three schools that have not lost a home game at the halfway mark of this season.
Montana and Sac State are the only two teams in the Big Sky Conference that have not lost a home game and haven’t won an away game. However, Montana currently holds the best record among all nine teams, at 6-2-2.
As Sac State approaches the end of their season, they are preparing to focus and lock down the home stretch.
“As a team, we all need to realize that this is the time, more than before, to put our own egos aside and make sure we’re playing for the team because this is when it all matters,” Herrman said.
The Hornets ended the 2023 season middle of the pack, with an overall record of 4-9-5 and a 2-3-3 record against the Big Sky conference. After struggling with injuries last season, the Hornets enter conference play for 2024 healthy and injury-free.
“This is as healthy as we’ve been in three or four years at this time in the season,” Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said. “We pushed our girls, but we didn’t push them so hard that we were losing players to injuries. Getting into conference healthy was one of our goals.”
Their next two games are on the road, against Idaho and Eastern Washington, both teams with a winning record of 5-3-1.
Despite early season losses, the Hornets are confident their team chemistry will carry them through conference play.
“Going into the conference, I feel like we all have a good understanding of what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, how we’re going to play as a team, how we defend different formations, and now we just have to go and execute,” Dedini said. “The chemistry is really strong with this group. Everybody’s together and working towards the same goal.”
