STOCKTON, Calif. – Under the bright lights of Knoles Field, a new era of Pacific women's soccer rolled in as the Tigers ultimately battled to a 3-0 defeat against Sacramento State in the home opener on Thursday night.

With a cheerful crowd engaged around the pitch, the Tigers (0-1) and Hornets (1-0) exchanged plenty of scoring chances all night that went in favor of the visitors on the opening night of the 2025 season.

"That was a fantastic crowd," Pacific head coach Jeff Freeman said. "I'm very thankful for the community and everybody who came out to support us tonight. It was a great environment for our team to play in front of tonight. I am proud of our team's effort and organization on both sides of the ball, but we just have to be better in front of the goal defensively and offensively. That was the difference tonight."

While the shot attempt totals were nearly identical for both teams, Sacramento State was able to find the back of the net three times with the game's opener at the 36th minute and two more in the second half.

A trio of Tigers led the surge offensively in creating opportunities around the box as graduate student Taylor Curtis, sophomore Sierah McCallum and junior Kaya Rosa each were credited with three shot attempts. Rosa also had an opportunity to strike on a penalty kick in the second half, but was stopped by the Sacramento State goalkeeper.

Four Tigers made their Pacific debuts on the pitch in freshman Aja Castaneda, freshman Janelli Villagran, junior Whitney Garn and freshman Yohonna Bell. Villagran registered a shot on goal in the first half following a burst of speed up the middle and Bell made an impact in driving toward the goal in her 46 minutes with a shot attempt.

Graduate student Juliana Alexander earned the starting assignment in goal, collecting six saves, which is tied for the second most amount of saves she's recorded in a single game of her career.

Along with Alexander, redshirt junior Faylinn Berkowitz represented the only pair of Tigers to play the full length of the match.

Up next, the Tigers continue their homestand at Knoles Field, welcoming UC Davis to Stockton at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

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