In the 55th minute at Hornet Field on Wednesday, the Sacramento State men’s soccer team found themselves down three goals to fifth-ranked University of California, Irvine. The tense emotion from the crowd could be felt from the everpresent shade and shaking branches that cover the right pitch.
Junior forward Donovan Sessoms looked to change the momentum of the match on a fast break up the right side of the pitch. Senior midfielder Hasan Alsakati sent a through ball just past the outstretched Anteater defenders.
Sessoms gathered the ball as he sped toward the right side of the box, dribbling twice and sending a scorching kick for the bottom left corner. The shot skipped off the grass just past the keeper, only for it to find the left post.
That narrow miss encapsulated the game and the emotions on the pitch – within reach but beyond the Hornets’ grasp.
“Honestly, I took the touch and I should have taken it a little bit more inside, so I tried to wrap around it as much as I could,” Sessoms said. “I tried to hit it as best as I could, but it just didn’t go in.”
On a fast break up the field Sessoms hits the post in the 55th minute. #hornets Still 3-0. pic.twitter.com/mylZ4almvQ
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) October 18, 2025
Continuing the momentum in the second half, Sessoms found himself alone up the pitch in the 57th minute.
In transition, senior midfielder Amjot Narang sent a ferocious pass up the pitch. Sophomore forward Sean Battistessa found a touch pass off his left foot to the streaking Sessoms. Sessoms sensed the moment and sprinted towards the free ball, only for the play to be called offsides from a late sprinting assistant referee.
“No chance it was offsides,” Sessoms said. “I’m gonna be honest with you, but it is what it is.”
Offsides call in the 57th minute. #hornets pic.twitter.com/24G5rWLGpu
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) October 20, 2025
Sac State’s offensive chances were futile. The Hornets failed to capitalize on their 12 shots in the match, only forcing the Anteater keeper to make one save in the entire game.
“The hardest part of the game is scoring goals,” head coach Michael Linenberger said. “Some of it is confidence right now with our guys; they are second guessing themselves, they are doubting themselves. Some of it is we need a little more composure, we need more accuracy with our shot and less power. We just have to keep doing the right things.”
Sac State started off slow, surrendering chances early in the match.
In the 11th minute, junior defender Nick Strangio made a desperation slide tackle in the box to deny UC Irvine’s first goal of the match.
“There was a mistake in the buildup from someone on our team,” Strangio said. “I was just looking to cover for him and have my teammates back.”
The defensive success for the Hornets did not last. In the 31st minute, the Anteaters took a loose ball up the left side of the box and sent a cross into Anteater sophomore defender Cristian Gallo. Gallo slid, striking a shot to the bottom right corner past the outstretched reach of senior goalkeeper Andres Rosales.
Just a little over seven minutes later, a turnover off senior defender Leonardo Martinez led to another Anteater goal.
A second goal for the Anteaters slips under the legs of Rosales. 2-0 Anteaters #hornets pic.twitter.com/7DPjL3uAAX
— Tamer Bohatch (@TamerBohatch) October 18, 2025
“We make a couple critical errors that allow them to score easy goals,” Linenberger said. “Their second goal was an example.”
To put the cherry on top for the Anteaters, senior forward Agaton Pourshahidi scored a penalty in the 50th minute to all but crush the Hornets’ chances of a comeback.
Sac State finished the match with zero saves, one shot on goal, 12 fouls and six corner kicks. The energy in the stands was bitter as the final buzzer blew.
Even with the 12 shots, the Hornets only forced the UC Irvine keeper to make one save, falling short of completing the comeback with a final score of 3-0 for UC Irvine.
“We had good moments where we kept the ball,” Linenberger said. “We had moments where we played direct and put things in behind them that caused them issues and this is what we want.”
The Hornets will look to continue these moments as they aim for their first Big West Conference win of the season on Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara.
