Sacramento State women’s soccer sent redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sierra Sonko back to the line for the second time in this Big Sky Conference tournament. She faced off against the Montana Grizzlies in an overtime shootout on Friday for a spot in the championship game.
“Every day is different. Every kicker is different,” Sonko said. “We’re going into PKs, so I need to lock in and just remember all the pointers I give myself on where their hips are – body positioning. I focus on that. I don’t focus on yesterday or what’s happening tomorrow.”
Just two days earlier, the same scene played out, with the game tied up through double overtime and headed into a penalty kick shootout. Sonko took to the field once again against Montana.
“We had all the confidence in the world that Sierra, our backup goalkeeper, was going to come in and win it in shootouts for a second game in a row,” Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said.
After junior midfielder Madalyn Dougherty’s first shot was off target, it was up to Sonko to make the save. She delivered, blocking two back-to-back penalties to send the Hornets to the Big Sky championship game.
“I’m feeling super excited,” sophomore forward Teysha-Ray Spinney-Kuahuia said. “Pushing through everything that we’ve been through together, making it to the end and just finishing strong.”
From the beginning of the game, Sac State put their best foot forward against the regular season champions. Montana had no shots on goal the entire first half, giving sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier little to do.
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The Hornets held possession most of the first half and made a few dangerous plays.
Within the first 5 minutes of the match, senior midfielder Abigail Lopez and senior forward Ariana Scholten put two back-to-back shots on goal. Lopez struck first but her shot was knocked away by the Grizzlies’ sophomore goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn, only for Scholten to take another shot and force Flynn to dive for the save.
Sophomore midfielder Ellie Farber made Sac State’s final two shots on goal in the half, sending the last one to the bottom right of the net and forcing Flynn into another diving save.
Montana opened the second half with new energy, immediately taking control and remedying their empty stat sheet from the first half.
The Grizzlies took three successive shots on goal in the first 3 minutes, finally testing Palmatier and generating her first three saves of the game.
The Hornets quickly responded with a chaotic flurry of shots and another on goal from sophomore forward Lexi Schroeder, but momentum stayed with Montana for most of the half.
“Both teams had chances to score in regulation, but I thought we had the more dangerous chances,” Dedini said. “We created some good opportunities for us to finish the game in regulation.”
As the potential of overtime approached, both teams began to get more and more physical. Already in the first half it was a rough game with 10 fouls recorded, but play only got messier. In the second half, 14 fouls were called.
Early in the second half, junior midfielder Maddie Ditta and Spinney-Kuahuia were locked in a battle up the sideline. Ditta was called for a foul, but they kept going, leading to another foul from Spinney-Kuahuia. Only the first was called, but both got a talking-to from the referee.
Four more fouls were recorded in overtime, along with eight shots, but still no one could find the back of the net.
After her showing on Wednesday, it was no surprise to see Sonko back in goal when double overtime came to an end. Even after redoing a shot because she stepped forward early, Sonko was able to deliver a repeat performance.
“As a goalkeeper, you are supposed to stay on the line or one foot on the line during the PKs, and I felt so confident in where she was going, I just went right away,” Sonko said.
In an upset, fifth-seeded Sac State knocked the regular season champion Montana out of the tournament in a scoreless win, ruining the Grizzlies’ perfect home record.
“Really proud of the grit that our girls showed,” Dedini said. “I’m just kind of floating on a cloud right now.”
The Hornets will contend for the Big Sky title against last year’s champions, the Idaho Vandals, in Missoula, Montana on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.
