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Fall sports season looks promising

The fall season for Hornet Sports is underway. Here’s what to expect:

Football
With a wealth of experience on defense and at the offensive skill positions, the Sacramento State football team will look to turn the corner in 2006. The Hornets return eight players who have started games on defense, including all-West Region selection Brett Shelton at safety and preseason all-Big Sky Conference choice Tyson Butler at linebacker. The defense has also bolstered its line and will attempt to continue the progress it made in 2005.

Offensively, Sacramento State features five returning receivers and a talented backfield of running backs. The receiving corps includes senior Ryan Coogler, juniors Billy White and Phillip Perry, and sophomore Bobby Mooshagian. Senior transfers Andre Taylor and Jason Barnes are also expected to make an immediate impact in their first season with the team. Senior running back Kris Daniels will anchor a backfield which has numerous weapons. Daniels amassed 347 yards over the final four games of the season, including 132 yards at Montana State. Sophomores Torrell Baker and Gerwin Williams and freshman Dalen Mason will also see time.

Up front, the Hornets will have an entirely new look. Sophomore Tyrone Davis is the lone offensive linemen who has played a snap for Sacramento State. Other notables on the line include Matt Gaughen, a JC All-American last season at Grossmont JC, and Matt Russell, a transfer from Missouri.

The Hornets home schedule features games against Cal Poly, Weber State, Montana State and Northern Colorado. The 52nd Annual Causeway Classic will take place on Nov. 18 at UC Davis.

Volleyball
Armed with four returning all-Big Sky Conference performers, including the league MVP-junior middle hitter Lindsay Haupt-the Sacramento State volleyball team is primed to make a run at its unprecedented 10th-consecutive conference regular season and/or tournament championship.

Upon joining the Big Sky for the 1996 season, it took head coach Debby Colberg (769-278 record over 30 years with the program) exactly one year before the Hornets began winning championships. The run began in 1997 when the team won both the league’s regular season and conference titles, and has culminated with eight NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Big Sky Tournament championships (1997-98, 2000, 2002-05) and six Big Sky regular season titles (1997-01, 2005).

Leading the Hornets will be Haupt, senior outside hitter Atlee Hubbard (first team all-Big Sky), senior Kristin Lutes (Big Sky Libero of the Year, second team all-league) and junior middle hitter Michelle Franz (Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, honorable mention all-Big Sky). Last year, the four combined for more than 50 percent of the team’s total number of kills, blocks and digs.

A total of nine Hornets return for the 2006 campaign, and that list includes seniors Shannon Roland and Leah Klemenhagen, junior Jennifer Ferguson, and sophomores Rose Burke and Brittany Ferguson. When you combine the strength of the returners with a balanced crop of five newcomers, Sacramento State should be right back in the thick of things for yet another Big Sky Conference title.

Men's Soccer
The Sacramento State men’s soccer team expects to build on what was a record-breaking season in 2005. The Hornets finished the year 9-7-2, their best record in more than 10 seasons, and also had a program-best six players receive all-Mountain Pacific Federation honors.

The Hornets return first team all-MPSF defender Utodi Madu to anchor the back line along with six additional starters from last year’s squad. Last season’s leading scorer, Oscar Sandoval, returns after putting away eight goals and four assists, earning MPSF second-team honors. Sandoval won’t be alone in his offensive efforts, with senior Ryan Rhoads, who buried five goals and assisted on five others, returning as well.

Sacramento State was ruthless on its home field, finishing with a Division I program-record eight-game unbeaten streak that included a 2-0 shutout over Causeway-rival UC Davis and a 1-1 tie with eventual NCAA runner-up New Mexico.

All-MPSF honoree Pedro Lupercio returns to the midfield for his final season, while defenders Jesse Manton and Eric Ortiz, who helped Sacramento State to four shutouts last season, will be playing their final year. Jack Jones and Josh Zimbrich return for their sophomore campaigns after combining for one goal and four assists as rookies.

Head coach Michael Linenberger will welcome in his 18th season at the helm of the program after earning co-MPSF Coach of the Year honors in 2005 for the second time in his career.

Women's Soccer
In 2005, the Sacramento State women’s soccer team finished second in the Big Sky Conference standings, a program best, and also advanced to the postseason tournament for the first time since 2001. And there is even more good news for 2006.

In her third season, head coach Katie Poynter returns seven starters, including the top five leading scorers from a year ago. In addition, Poynter has again brought in another top-ranked recruiting class, with Soccer Buzz Magazine ranking her seven-member class second in the Big Sky.

Leading scorer Katie McCoy, who earned first team all-conference honors last season with seven goals and six assists, returns for her junior year, while senior Kelly Novak approaches her last campaign after netting a career-best four goals with one assist in 2005. Junior Kayelyn Satkowski, a sure-fire scorer off the bench in 2005 with two goals and two assists, is in her best form yet entering her junior season.

Last year’s freshman class contributed immensely to the Hornets’ success, with defender Kara Taylor anchoring the back line and earning co-Big Sky Defender of the Year honors along with being named to the first team. Midfielder Sarah Howard served as the link between the Hornets’ defense and offense and was named to the Big Sky all-tourney team while goalkeeper Jenny Lawrence posted five shutouts and spent every minute in goal for Sacramento State.

Cross Country
Under the leadership of second year head coach Rodney Rothoff, the Sacramento State cross country team will have the goal of protecting its home turf. The Hornets will host two meets this season, including the Big Sky Conference Championships on Oct. 28.

The men’s and women’s teams both return their MVP from last season. Sophomore Dominic Vogl led the men in five of their six meets while sophomore Erin Wachter led the women in three meets and finished second on the team in two other.

The Hornets’ other home meet will come on Sept. 16. The team competes on a custom-made course at Granite Regional Park, located off Power Inn Road just south of campus.