As time was running out with about 10 minutes left to play, Sacramento State needed three goals against Portland State to keep their Big Sky Conference dreams alive.
Launching attack after attack, the Hornets were making a last gasp effort towards the Vikings’ goal but could not find the back of the net.
The best chance for the Hornets came late in the game with about five minutes left to play.
Winning the ball inside the Viking box, sophomore forward Tierra Pickell played a ball into the path of junior defender Dalen Lau. Lau then hit the ball midair into a Viking deflection, falling back into the feet of Pickell.
On the right side of the Viking box, Pickell took a shot on her right foot and sent the ball flying toward the goal.
The shot from Pickell struck the crossbar and bounced toward a clustered crowd of Vikings and Hornets. Among the crowd, junior forward Micaela Romo managed to connect with the ball with her head and struck it toward the goal.
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Romo’s header was deflected by a Viking and kept the Hornets trailing two goals to none in the final minutes.
As the game came to a close, the Hornets found themselves outside of the top six teams in the Big Sky Conference standings. Failing to qualify for the Big Sky tournament, the Hornets’ season ended at Hornet Field with tears and despair.
“The cruel thing about soccer is you can outplay a team and still lose,” head coach Randy Dedini said. “I thought we played well enough but not good enough in our defensive third and cleaning up the two shots that went in.”
The two goals that the Hornets conceded both came in the first half. After a strong start from the Hornets in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Vikings started to take control and brushed aside the Hornets’ pressure.
Winning the ball back for the Vikings on the edge of the Hornets’ box, Viking senior forward Ocean Rideout took a shot onto the Hornet goal.
Hornet freshman goalkeeper Cynthia Waller saved the shot from Rideout, but the ball spilled from Waller’s grasp. The spill allowed Viking redshirt junior midfielder Maya Wells to tap the ball in the net to give the Vikings the lead in the 13th minute.
On the attack looking to get on the scoreboard first, senior forward Ocean Rideout takes a shot onto the Hornet goal. Freshman goalkeeper Cynthia Waller saves the shot but the ball spills from Waller’s grasp allowing redshirt junior midfielder Maya Wells to get the second chance pic.twitter.com/qjQDjx1xDb
— Elisha K Chandra (@ElishaChandra_) October 28, 2025
The second goal for the Vikings came just 11 minutes later.
Crossing the ball on the left hand side of Hornet territory, Vikings junior defender Kamaria Hughes found Rideout inside the box. Rideout received the ball from the cross from Hughes and used her first touch to set up her shot.
After the bounce from her first touch, Rideout took a shot and found the bottom right corner of the Hornet goal.
“With the two goals, it just comes down to going for the ball, fighting for everything, following everything, communicating,” fifth-year defender Isabella Vinsonhaler said. “Things we have been working on and we need to continue working on.”
The two goals in the first 25 minutes of the first half changed the game for both teams. The Vikings were able to soak up the Hornets’ pressure throughout the entirety of the game and often frustrated their opponents.
Because of the two-goal deficit early on, the Hornets were chasing the Vikings for the rest of the game, leading to the Hornets taking too many shots outside of the box or forcing passes that got intercepted by the Vikings. The Hornets had a total of 14 shots, while holding the Vikings to nine. The majority of the Hornets’ shots came from outside the box while both Viking goals came from inside of the box.
The end result concluded a season full of ups and downs for the Hornets.
“It was kind of a rollercoaster. We had some good games and some good moments, and then we had some poor games and some poor moments,” Dedini said. “A lot of times that happens when you have a lot of young players.”
Because of injuries to several key players, like fifth-year defender Sydney Sharts and redshirt freshman midfielder Jules Colchico missing out for the Hornets, several young players throughout the season helped bring new excitement to Hornet Field.
“We have a lot of young players that stepped up. They played great,” sophomore defender Jaety Mandaquit said. “The newcomers coming in, we can’t wait to see what they bring to the team and help us in the future.”
The Hornets also said their goodbyes to several seniors, including Vinsonhaler, who was co-captain.
“I’ve been here for five years, and I’ve been in college for six. So, I’ve been here for quite a while,” Vinsonhaler said. “I’m really excited to see where the girls go.”
The Hornets will embark on a new journey as they leave the Big Sky Conference and join the Big West.
“Its going to be a new challenge for us. We are going to have a team that can compete, as long as we can get healthy,” Dedini said. “We have a great, young class coming in. We feel good about the future.”
