Sacramento State women’s soccer faced Long Beach State at George Allen Field, in a high-stakes matchup that saw both teams seek their first Big West Conference win.

Long Beach found themselves down 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining, but the Beach looked to force a late comeback.

A minute after the Hornets scored their second goal, the momentum quickly shifted as Long Beach hurried down the field and found its first goal in the 80th minute.

Junior Beach defender Nicole Velasco received the ball on the right wing, and sent a long cross to the back post toward junior Beach defender Natalie Arnold. 

In front of the Hornets’ goal, Arnold tapped the ball into the back of the net with her right foot, cutting Sac State’s lead to 2-1. The goal energized the crowd as the Beach pushed for an equalizer. 

In the 83rd minute, the Beach again found themselves in the Hornets’s final third searching for an equalizer.

Freshman Beach defender Sydney Beaumont sent a cross into the box that junior goalkeeper Hayley Hartsburg punched away. The ball bounced outside the box to Velasco, who struck it back toward the goal before it was deflected off sophomore Beach midfielder Ameera White.

Velasco’s shot deflected off White’s foot and into the air, sailing over Hartsburg and into the net. The Hornet’s two-goal lead disappeared as the match was tied 2-2.

“Being able to close out games is something we see in front of us and is something that we talked about,” head coach Tim Strader said. “We want to be a 91 minute team, not just a 90 minute team.”

The Hornets found themselves in trouble again, with this draw, Sac State marked the second consecutive game in which they conceded the lead in the final minutes.

“In order to finish these games we got to stay locked in the whole 90 minutes and never be content with any score line,” senior midfielder Ellie Farber said. “It’s a team mindset that we no doubt can achieve with time.”

Sac State was outshot by Long Beach State 22-12, putting just four on target compared with the Beach’s 10. This marked the fourth time this season the Hornets have been outshot, with three of those games coming in September. 

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Both teams generated early momentum while settling into the match. Long Beach then took control of the half, creating several opportunities in the Hornets’ final third, and sending crosses into the box that just fell short of connecting. The Beach had its best opportunity to take the lead in the 31st minute.

Senior Beach forward Radisson Banks received the ball down the right wing, and used a fake pass to create space inside the Hornet’s box. As Banks prepared to shoot, sophomore midfielder Leah Gimenez tripped her, resulting in a penalty kick for Long Beach State.

The Big West Conference leading scorer, senior Beach forward Cherrie Cox stepped up to take the penalty with a chance to tie her LBSU 13 goal scoring season record. After the whistle, Cox fired a right-footed shot toward the bottom-right corner. Hartsburg read it correctly, and made a diving left-handed save to keep the match scoreless.

The Hornets surrounded Hartsburg in celebration of the save . Sac State was able to escape the half tied 0-0, despite creating few scoring opportunities.

“We knew it was going to be a hard match and that we were going to have to be gritty,” sophomore midfielder Jules Colchico said. “I think we did exactly that and came out with a lot of energy.”

During the second half, Sac State capitalized on its limited chances, putting three of its four shots on target for the half. The Hornets took advantage in the 54th minute, putting the Beach’s backs against the wall.

Colchico found space on the left wing, and fired a long-range shot from outside the box that bounced twice before reaching the LBSU goalkeeper. The ball deflected off of the goalkeeper directly toward junior forward Mia Jackson. She tapped it into the bottom-left corner of the net, to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.

“We had been talking about ‘finishing the rep’ this week,” Jackson said. “In the moment I knew that I needed to make that front post run no matter what happened. The goalie wasn’t able to get a clear catch on the ball, and I was there to finish it.”

Sac State remained composed in the face of the Long Beach aggression, as the defense held strong before the Hornets struck again.

The Hornets earned a corner kick in the 79th minute. Jackson sent a cross into the box that found junior defender Jaety Mandaquit. She came flying in and headed the ball into the middle of the net, giving Sac State a 2-0 lead.

“We always practice our set pieces and it’s a goal of ours to score and capitalize on them every game,” Jackson said.

Jackson finished the night with a goal and an assist. It was her third goal of the season, and her first since scoring twice in the season opener against The University of the Pacific on Thursday, Aug. 13.

The Hornets fell short yet again during the last minutes of the match, drawing the game 2-2.

“Obviously surrendering a two goal lead is tough,” Strader said. “We knew if we gave them our best performance that we could compete tonight and I’m just proud of how our group responded.”

Sac State’s two goals brought its season total to 18, surpassing last season’s total goal count of 16.

The Hornets move on with a record of 4-3-5 and 0-1-3 in the conference, after their draw with The Beach. Sac State has tied three of its last four conference matches, with each draw coming after the opponent scored in the final 10 minutes.

“I think the biggest thing is, we know what we need to work on,” Strader said. “We’re committed to sharpening the tools in the shed so we can go out and compete to get that next result.”

Sac State will look for its first win since August when it hosts California State University, Bakersfield at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026.