Sacramento State fell behind on the road against the Idaho Vandals Friday and the Eastern Washington Eagles Sunday, with no goals scored in either game.

The Hornets are currently trailing in the Big Sky Conference after losing their first two games, bringing their overall record to 2-6-3.

Friday: Sac State: 0, Idaho: 2

The Vandals barely gave the Hornets a chance to warm up, scoring the first goal within the first 8 minutes of their match on Friday, Sept. 27.

The referee called a handball just outside the penalty box. While everyone expected Vandal’s graduate student defender Alyssa Peters to go for an assist, she snuck the ball through the Hornets’ wall and just past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier’s fingertips.

“He called the handball and then it’s kind of our own fault because our wall decided to turn away from the ball as it was getting shot at them,” Palmatier said. “I honestly think if we had just held our ground and let the ball hit us like the wall is supposed to, that goal probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Sac State struggled to get shots off, ending the half 2-12, and senior forward Danna Restom and freshman defender Jaety Mandaquit both made promising crosses that the Vandals immediately knocked away.

By the end of the game, Mandaquit had four of Sac State’s 12 total shots and one of their 3 shots on goal.

“She’s been standing out all year long,” Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said of Mandaquit. “As a holding mid, we ask her to do a lot of defense work, and I think she led our team in shots.”

Alongside Mandaquit, sophomore forward Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia led the charge with multiple runs on the goal in the second half, coming up just short with a shot on goal.

The Hornets dominated possession in the final 10 minutes of the first half and carried that momentum well into the second, trying to even the playing field with 10 shots to the Vandals’ four.

“We came out really strong, we finished strong and the halftime adjustments were instrumental in us having a strong second half,” Dedini said.

Despite the Hornets’ strong possession most of the second half, they couldn’t find the back of the net.

“I still think we played really strong in that second half, created some nice chances, but just didn’t put our chances away,” Dedini said.

The Hornets fell more behind after a surprising foul call on Palmatier. Fouls are not often called on goalkeepers, and no one was sure at first what call had been made.

“I’m getting up off the ground, and I try to cut off the cross with a split save, my foot poking out, not even laces up,” Palmatier said. “I don’t get any of her legs when she crosses it and then she falls onto me making it hard for me to get back up and make a save. If you watch you can see, all of us were stunned that he called anything.”

The foul earned Idaho a penalty kick that graduate student midfielder Hannah Alfaro-Black sent low and to the left. Palmatier started right and dove left at the last minute, but just missed the save.

“We put them under some stress, but then they got the penalty kick, which was kind of a phantom call,” Dedini said. “Nobody really knew what it was, until the referee said that our goalkeeper took one of their players out which, looking back on film, wasn’t the case.”

The Hornets were fired up after the penalty, resulting in all four yellow cards of the game being pulled in the last ten minutes, three against the Hornets and one on the Vandals. Despite the burst of last-minute energy, Idaho kept their lead and won 2-0.

“They felt good about their performance, but they were shocked at how everything went down,” Dedini said. “We’re just a little bit angry, but trying to channel that anger into our next game.”

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Sunday: Sac State: 0, Eastern Washington: 3

Eastern Washington attacked Sac State right off the bat, as they scored the first goal two and a half minutes into the game on Sunday.

“When we came out slow and found ourselves a goal down in the first 3 minutes, it’s hard when you’re chasing the game,” Dedini said. “We started trying to push the ball forward, rather than sticking to our game plan, which was to swing the ball and attack up the weak side.”

Graduate student midfielder Isabelle Herting recorded the game’s first two goals in the first 20 minutes. The first was a shot right through the Hornets’ defense into the middle of the net, and the second rolled across the goal box into the bottom right corner of the net.

The Hornets started out playing catch-up and continued their offensive struggles with 11 shots, 3 of them on goal. The field and weather conditions were also a factor for the Hornets.

“Some of the balls were slowing down because it was thicker grass,” Palmatier said. “The wind definitely played a role in it, as well.”

The Hornets only made three shots on goal, as the Eagles’ defense successfully prevented the Hornets from scoring. Both teams’ goalkeepers each had three saves, as there was not much action near the net.

“It’s just been, games haven’t necessarily gone our way just yet,” junior midfielder Madelyn Dougherty said. “Each game we’re getting better, and I think the flow is there; it’s just about putting it together when it comes to game time.”

The remainder of the game was quiet until Eagles freshman forward Bella Bunnage squeezed a left footed kick to the back right corner of the net in the final 15 minutes of the second half, pushing their lead to 3-0.

The Hornets’ player rotation was busy in the second half, with 16 substitutions within 40 minutes of gametime.

The Hornets have failed to score a goal in their last two road games, getting shut out in both. Their next game is at home against Idaho State on Friday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m.