Sacramento State men’s soccer showed up offensively against California State University, Northridge Matadors on Wednesday, Oct. 16 in a 5-0 win. The Hornets flourished on both ends to gain a 3-1 win over University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday.

Wednesday: Sac State: 5, Cal State Northridge: 0

Sac State opened the match showing a dominant offense, as they connected on passes and pushed the ball up on the offensive third.

In the 6th minute, sophomore forward Donovan Sessoms kicked off the scoring when he received a pass from redshirt junior forward Jhared Willcot inside the box. Sessoms placed a shot to the left of the keeper and into the goal to make it 1-0.

Five minutes later, a handball by the Matadors resulted in a free kick on the left side, just outside the box. Freshman midfielder Hiroshi Yang lined up to receive and fired it into the goal, sneaking it inside the upper left side of the goal for a 2-0 Hornet lead. The free kick was Yang’s first collegiate goal.

The Hornets continued the scoring, as freshman midfielder Sean Battistessa followed with 3 goals of his own, giving him a hat trick and the Hornets a 5-0 lead that never gave up.

“I think jumping on them right away and being aggressive helped a lot,” Battistessa said. “Being back at home, we felt like we needed to get three points, and I think the whole team kind of rallied around that idea.”

Sac State ended the game with a clean sheet against Cal State Northridge, their second of the season.

Saturday: Sac State: 3, UC Santa Barbara: 1

The Hornets started off hot offensively, as they came out aggressive against the Gauchos.

The first goal came just three minutes into the match, when senior midfielder Axel Ramirez powered a pass into the box where it found Sessoms. He shifted away from his defender, took a touch and shot it to the left of senior goalkeeper David Mitzner for a 1-0 Hornet lead.

A strong connection of passes by UCSB on Sac State’s half eventually led to a cross which found Gauchos’ freshman forward Zac Siebenlist inside the box as he tapped it into the right side of the goal to tie the match 1-1.

The Hornets and the Gauchos spent the remainder of the first half battling for the lead. The Gauchos made senior goalkeeper Mac Learned work for multiple saves in the first half, with 10 shots to the Hornets’ 3.

Sac State’s defense played an immense part as they stepped in front of shots which resulted in deflections, working hard to keep UCSB from getting free shots at the net.

“I knew I had to make important saves today because UC Santa Barbara are tough opponents,” Learned said. “Everyone was communicating, everyone was putting their body on the line, everyone felt they needed to win. Being at home, we want to protect the nest.”

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At the start of the second half, Sessoms sprinted up the left side of the pitch with the ball to lose his defender. As he entered the box, he stopped, feinted his body right making the keeper shift to the right and powered a shot into the upper left side of the goal, bringing the Hornets to a 2-0 lead.

Following the second goal, the Hornets gained the upper hand and continued to flow their offense with calmness and poise.

The Hornets’ defense continued to make important tackles and let no chances through for the Gauchos.

“I thought we defended well, we were compact and we were organized,” Sac State head coach Michael Linenberger said. “We made it hard for them to break us down, and we stayed strong.”

In the 67th minute, freshman defender Angad Singh lobbed a pass to sophomore forward Simon Vaca-Lorenzi, who flicked it to Sessoms on the right side of the box. Sessoms curled a shot around the right side of Mitzner to secure his hat trick and a 3-1 lead.

“It’s a lot easier when you rely on your players and play one-two, and that’s how I got all three goals today,” Sessoms said. “Working off of my teammates allows my positioning to be good because I know where everyone’s going to be and everyone should be.”

Sessoms now has 9 goals on the season, just one goal shy of entering the top 10 all-time season scorers for Sac State, where he would tie Max Alvarez (2009) and Jamel Mitchell (1996).

The Hornets are now 6-7-2 in the season and head on the road to face off against Cal State Fullerton at Titan Field on Wednesday.