Box Score Sacramento, California - The Thunderbird soccer team dropped their second match to begin Big Sky Conference play on Sunday afternoon, as they fell 4–1 on the road to Sacramento State.
“Today's game was a bit of a shocker,” SUU head coach Becky Hogan said about the match. “We allowed goals on three set pieces and a missed clearance. By now set pieces are an obvious weakness of ours and our players need to decide how serious to take these situations. A set piece is the only time in soccer when you can stop and collect yourself and give a maximal effort with perfect clarity and focus. It truly is a "me against my opponent" moment and we lost that battle three times today. Nothing excuses that.”
CSUS struck first in just the second minute of the match, when Amanda Mielke headed a pass from Kayla Collins into the back of the net to put the Hornets up 1–0. The Hornet's second goal of the first half came in the 28th minute, as Adaurie Dayak tallied her third goal of the season and put her team up 2–0, which would remain the score at the half.
The Hornets struck again in the 53rd minute when Collins got a goal of her own off a pass from Jennifer Lum's free kick to put CSUS up 3–0. The Hornets would put their final goal of the match in the net in the 81st minute, with a Regan Smithers header.
The Thunderbirds were able to get on the board in the 89th minute, when Shelby Green took a pass from Kelsee Bone and scored, making the final 4–1 in favor of Sacramento State.
Hogan said the effort the team showed in the second half was better.
“We showed great grit and determination in the second half and if we can bring that effort in the first halves of games we will quickly reverse our current course,” she said.
Taylor Bolding got the start in goal for SUU and played the entire match, recording seven saves despite giving up the four goals.
CSUS had a 20–14 advantage over SUU in shots, and an 11–4 advantage in shots on goal.
The Thunderbirds will be back on the road next Friday for a one game road trip to Missoula, Montana to take on the Montana Grizzlies. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m.
Hogan said even though they team has started conference play with two losses, the team is still confident moving forward.
“Nobody is panicking right now,” she said. It is extremely difficult to win games on the road in the Big Sky. While I fully anticipated we were going to win both games this weekend, I also knew it was no easy task. We now have to regroup and head up to Montana for a single game against an opponent who will be incredibly fired up and hungry for their first win also. Montana is an absolutely quality program with a fabulous coach. Our task ahead is a difficult one but with this years team I always like our chances.”
