In terms of their postseason aspirations, the Sacramento State Hornets were in a do-or-die position during Saturday’s match against their rivals, UC Davis. Only a win would keep them in contention for the Big West postseason tournament, which they only made for the first time last season.
Fortunately for the 632 fans in attendance, the Hornets were able to take away a 1-0 victory thanks to two big plays early on from sophomore goalkeeper James Del Curto and redshirt freshman Brad Bumgarner.
Del Curto came up huge just 2 minutes into the match, saving a UC Davis penalty kick that would have been a real blow to the Hornet’s chances. It was both his first and most important save of the match.
Bumgarner’s big contribution came just 7 minutes later at the other end of the field when he scored the first and only goal of the match. Bumgarner received a pass from senior midfielder Cesar Mendoza and coolly slotted it into the back corner of the net for what would prove to be the game winner.
The goal was his sixth of the year and his third game winner. When asked about his prolific form, Bumgarner said “I’m just doing what Coach Mike wants me to do, what he recruited me to do and get as many goals as I can. It’s lucky enough that I got the 6 [goals] and a couple of game winners.”
Bumgarner was recruited back in 2014 to help fix the Hornets’s scoring problem, but was unfortunately forced to sit the entire season out due to injury. With a healthy and productive 2015, he is proving that Sac State coach Michael Linenberger was right to make him a priority.
Despite the early advantage that Bumgarner’s goal gave the Hornets, they were still in for a hard fought match. UC Davis chased after an equalizer for the rest of the game, with the pressure mounting as the match went on. However, some strong defense by the Hornets, coupled with a little bit of luck, earned them the win they so desperately needed.
“It feels great winning against our rivals”, said Bumgarner after the match. “With this win we’re still not completely in it, but we’re one point away from Davis and that’s who we’re trying to catch. This win was huge.”
Despite the huge win over UC Davis, the Hornets still have a tough road ahead if they want to make it to the Big West postseason tournament. On Wednesday they travel down south to face UC Santa Barbara, ranked 19th in the nation.
UCSB may have revenge on their mind come Wednesday, though. The last time the two teams met, the Hornets beat them for the first time since 1997.
Bumgarner did not seem to concerned, though. “It doesn’t change anything,” he said. “We’re just going to go play our game. It’ll be their senior night and we know they’re going to be flying at us. We’re going to try to handle it and I think we can. I think we can get those points and get into the postseason.”
Kickoff for Wednesday’s Sac State match against UCSB is 7pm.
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