As a foggy San Francisco September evening fell upon Negoesco Stadium, Sacramento State trailed the University of San Francisco by one goal on Monday night.
Looking to reset the attack at the beginning of the half, junior defender Nick Strangio looked to pass the ball back to sophomore defender Angad Singh from the right side of the pitch in the 49th minute.
As the ball glided off the yellow and white USF logo, Singh took a look up the pitch to evaluate his options. Taking a touch off his left foot, Singh went to make his move.
Stepping forward, Singh slipped on the wet pitch, giving a costly turnover to the Dons.
Senior goalkeeper Andres Rosales scrambled to reset off the turnover, pedaling back into the goal. As the Dons’ forward charged in, Rosales made an attempt to cut off the shot, diving to his left with his hands outstretched.
The Don forward slid a shot underneath Rosales’ left arm, extending USF’s lead to two goals and deflating the Hornets’ attempt at a quick comeback.
A slip from Singh gives the Dons an easy opportunity with a breakaway on Rosales. 2-0 Dons. pic.twitter.com/V2uHfm9P5l
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) September 16, 2025
“Obviously, it was an accident, and there was a slippery field. So we don’t blame him by any means,” head coach Michael Linenberger said. “These things can happen, and we move on.”
With the Dons still on the attack, Rosales sent out a goal kick in the 54th minute to sophomore midfielder Vincent Padilla.
Padilla turned up the field, feeling pressure, and made a blind pass back to the defender.
Within all of the chaos and confusion, a Don forward charged into the box, seizing the opportunity. Scooting his way around sophomore defender Jonathan Dadzie, he fired a shot that was quickly put away by the left hand of Rosales.
“I’m in a flow state which makes me feel confident and not overthink as much,” Rosales said. “When I’m in this state, everything feels easy.”
Great chance again for the Dons, Rosales still standing tall. #Hornets pic.twitter.com/sC6iwzdNjm
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) September 16, 2025
The momentum of the game stayed in the Hornets’ half, forcing Rosales to come up with a total of seven saves to keep the Hornets in the game.
“To be better defensively, we need more intensity, discipline and communication,” Rosales said. “In my opinion, communication is key, especially to the backline and the keeper.”
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The Hornets’ best chance at getting a goal back came in the 87th minute.
Having the Dons’ forwards caught in transition, junior forward Donovan Sessoms gave a through ball in the middle of the field to freshman forward Zach Looney. Just skipping past the reach of Looney, the ball was challenged by the Dons keeper. Playing the ball into the charging Looney. After ricocheting violently off Looney’s shins, sophomore forward Sean Battistessa collected the ball and sent a high looping shot over the Dons’ defenders, sailing wide of the open goal, adding to the Hornets’ offensive woes.
Looks to maybe the final chance for the Hornets here in the 87th minute. #hornets pic.twitter.com/XEjdxn8FuD
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) September 16, 2025
“We need to make some quicker runs into the box as well as more fast combinations and creative play,” Looney said. “We just need to put all the pieces together. I believe in us as a group, that we can become much more dangerous offensively.”
The Hornets finished the game with a total of six shots, with three finding the target that were ultimately blocked by the keeper.
“Obviously, we have to do a better job of keeping the ball. We turn the ball over way too easily,” Linenberger said. “We didn’t have enough periods of sustained possession where we can get more numbers going forward in order to create more dangerous opportunities.”
Adding insult to injury, the Dons scored a third goal in the 88th minute to put a dagger in the Hornets, finishing the game with a final score of 3-0.
Looking to bounce back, Sac State hosts Saint Mary’s on Friday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m.
