SACRAMENTO – A new season dawns for Pacific women's soccer as the program heads up the I-5 for a clash at Sacramento State on Thursday at 5 p.m. from Hornet Field.

For the first time since the 2022 season, the Tigers (0-0) will begin a campaign on the road with this year starting in the state capital against the Hornets (0-0).

Pacific, who was projected to finish ninth in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll, returns two of its top producers from 2025 in senior Whitney Garn and senior Kaya Rosa, who each netted a pair of goals across 19 matches. In total, the Tigers retained 50% of its goal production from a season ago.

Sophomore Lis Van Herwijnen looks to build upon a strong first year as the main goalkeeper during head coach Jeff Freeman's first season. The native of Veldhoven, Netherlands sported a 1.86 goals against average with 62 saves and four clean sheets in 14 starts as a freshman. In 11 of those 14 starts, Van Herwijnen gave up two or fewer goals

This year's squad features 11 newcomers to the Freeman's roster and ten returnees who played in at least ten matches in 2025.

Serving as last year's minutes leader with 1,624 minutes, junior Gianna Gagliano will be a key cog on the backend. Gagliano, who scored her first collegiate goal in a 2-1 win over Santa Clara on Oc. 11, 2025, started all but one match during her sophomore season in which she was named to the WCC All-Academic Team.

Sacramento State will be led by first-year head coach Tim Strader while competing as a new member of the Big West Conference this season. Strader, who was named the fifth head coach in the history of the Sacramento State women's soccer program, looks to improve on the Hornets' 6-11-1 overall record from the 2025 campaign and work with a roster that returns just eight players from last season.

The Hornets were projected to finish in 12th place in the conference's preseason coaches' poll. Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara were tied atop the Big West poll with 100 points each.

Lexi Schroeder represents a key scoring threat to watch throughout the match as she returns as the Hornets' top scorer from 2025 with three goals and two assists in 18 matches. Last year, Sacramento State owned a 1.89 goals against average across the 2025 campaign with five shutouts.

Pacific and Sacramento State meet for the 29th all-time meeting that dates back to the first match in 1993. Last year in the season opener, the Tigers dropped a 3-0 decision at Knoles Field, but Pacific has won four of its last six matches against the Hornets, including a 3-2 road victory on Sept. 10, 2023. In that match, the Tigers scored two goals in the final ten minutes to complete a comeback win in the state capital. In 2021, Pacific earned its most recent shutout victory over Sacramento State, blanking their opponent, 4-0.

The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ for the scheduled 5 p.m. kick-off from Hornet Field.

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