With their season on the line, Sacramento State women’s soccer survived two overtime periods against Northern Arizona, leading to a penalty shootout Sac State put in the hands of their backup goalkeeper, a decision that would determine the Hornets’ fate.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sierra Sonko stepped up to the goal line with the Hornets leading 4-3 in penalty kicks and the potential game-tying shot walking up to the box. One save would cement her as a hero for her team.
Northern Arizona sophomore forward Micala Boex fired the ball towards the left side of the net and Sonko dove after it in an attempt to send her team to the next round.
Sonko blocked the ball and immediately ran to her teammates in excitement as the team celebrated their dramatic victory over the Lumberjacks to move to the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament.
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“She’s been really good at practices,” Sac State head coach Randy Dedini said. “Put her in for the PKs, and she helped us win it, that was exciting, so it just felt like a full, total team win.”
Sac State’s starting sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier played 110 minutes and sent the game to penalty kicks after a fully extended diving save with five and a half minutes left in double overtime.
“I’m just so locked into the flow of the game. When a fast shot comes into you like that it really comes down to not thinking about it and just letting your body fly,” Palmatier said. “Making the save also comes from the uncountable reps I’ve had over the years to where it is a very natural instinct.”
The game came down to penalty kicks because of the back-and-forth battle in regulation, each team finding the back of the net in each half.
The Lumberjacks threw the first punch with a boot from senior forward Kayla Shebar that ricocheted off the right goal post to take a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute.
In the final two minutes of the first half, the Hornets struck back with a soft touch from sophomore forward Lexi Schroeder set up by sophomore midfielder Ellie Farber to knot up the game at 1.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Farber lobbed up a pass from the left corner to set up a header into the right side of the net from sophomore forward Teysha-Rey Spinney-Kuahuia to take the Hornets’ first lead of the game.
“I remember the ball got hit loose on the backside, I tracked it down with a lot of space, turned and hit it with my right foot in and found Teysha-Rey on the head,” Farber said.
Northern Arizona caught a break from a foul called on Sac State freshman defender Jaety Mandaquit in the box that led to a game-tying penalty kick from Boext to even up the game 2-2 in the 67th minute.
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In the first overtime period, NAU’s senior goalkeeper Trinity Corcoran held off the persistent Sac State tide with a jumping save that tipped off her fingers, forcing the ball to bounce off the crossbar.
Despite the Lumberjacks ending the game with more shots on goal, the Hornets dominated possession in both overtime periods, forcing the Lumberjacks onto their heels defensively.
After 110 minutes of play, the Hornets and Lumberjacks went to penalty kicks to determine the winner. The Hornets switched Palmatier for Sonko for the second time all season.
Senior midfielder Abigail Lopez and junior midfielder Madelyn Dougherty earned Sac State’s first two scores in penalties. Schroeder’s shot was blocked, and the final two shots were made by senior forward Ariana Scholten and redshirt senior Sydney Sharts.
The Lumberjacks went shot-for-shot with the Hornets on their first four, before Sonko’s game-winning save clinched a spot in the next round.
The Hornets will face off against the top-seeded Montana Grizzlies in the semifinals on their home turf of Missoula, Montana on Friday at 1 p.m.
