Sacramento State opened up its conference season in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 1-0 loss to San Jose State on Sunday afternoon at Hornet Field. Colby Moore’s goal in the 19th minute proved to be the deciding factor in San Jose State’s win in front of a season-high 972 fans at Hornet Soccer Field.

After Hornet sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Gangnuss made a one-handed stop to deny Moore in the 13th minute, the freshman forward responded less than six minutes later with a one-time volley to the near post.

The Hornets created several scoring opportunities during the match, but San Jose State goalkeeper Richard Mann denied David Lopez’s low-driven shot to the near post in the first half and in the final minute of the game, stopped Oscar Sandoval, the Hornets’ leading scorer from a year ago, after he sent a header to the left upper corner. Also in the match, Kurtis Lindsey sent a dangerous ball into the box that Zlatan Kuckovic headed just over the crossbar.

The Week Ahead

Sacramento State will continue conference play on the road this week, traveling to UNLV on Friday and 17th-ranked New Mexico on Sunday. The Rebels (0-8-2) dropped two matches over the weekend, suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Air Force on Friday, before falling at Denver, 5-0 on Sunday. The Pioneers, who went 2-0 on the opening weekend, scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the match against the Rebels. Nicholas Paterson continues to lead UNLV in scoring with two goals and five assists.

Defending conference champion New Mexico fell at Denver 1-0 on Friday, but rebounded with a 3-1 victory at Air Force. The NCAA runner-ups are led by Brandon Barklage’s two goals and three assists. Goalkeeper Mike Graczyk has five shutouts under his belt and leads the conference with a 0.69 goals against average. This week’s matches can be followed on gametracker at www.unlvrebels.com and www.golobos.com.

Tree Toppers

Sophomores Adam Owens and Zach Tuss have paired together in the center of the back line for Sacramento State recently, starting the last three matches. Owens, a 2005 Jesuit High School graduate, entered the starting lineup at the end of last season and is the only player this year to start all 10 matches this year, holding the longest starting streak of any current player at 12 games.

Owens and Tuss both top the six-foot mark, an advantage for the Hornets defensively and on set pieces. During his freshman season and at the beginning of 2006, Tuss mainly came off the bench, but the Sacramento native has taken advantage of his opportunities as of late. The 2005 Natomas graduate impressed enough at the Cal Legacy Classic along with Owens for the two to earn all-tournament team accolades.

It was just a year ago that Owens received his second career start against then second-ranked New Mexico. He paired with Utodi Madu in the central defense and held the Lobos to just one goal in a 1-1 tie, while helping Sacramento State outshoot the eventual College Cup runner-up, 17-13.

On the Outside Looking In

Another tandem in Sacramento State’s arsenal are outside midfielders Pedro Lupercio and Josh Zimbrich. Lupercio, a Dixon, Calif., native has retained the starting spot on the right side for the last three seasons. In his final year with the Hornets, Lupercio already has four assists on the year, including two in a 3-0 shutout of Bowling Green on Sept. 10. Arguably the Hornets most creative attacking player, Lupercio has two career goals and nine career assists, with his assist total tying for fifth in program history.

A 2003 graduate of Dixon High School, Lupercio received MPSF honorable mention accolades a year ago after posting a career best two goals and two assists.

The perfect compliment to Lupercio on the left side is sophomore Josh Zimbrich. Last year Zimbrich came off the bench and contributed one goal and one assist, but things have changes for his second campaign. The 2005 Del Oro High School graduate has taken over the starting spot on the left and is beginning to exploit the opposing team’s defense with his speed. Arguably the fastest player on the roster, Zimbrich has already shown his ability to impact a match, scoring the go-ahead goal before assisting on the eventual game winner less than 10 minutes later in a 3-2 victory over Valparaiso on Sept. 4.

You Can Rely On It

A regular beneficiary of Lupercio’s and Zimbrich’s service is senior forward Eliot Ricks-Chambers. In 2005, Ricks-Chambers walked on to the squad and eventually entered the starting line up after Oscar Sandoval missed the last three matches of the season with an injury. In those three matches, Ricks-Chambers made three starts and scored three goals.

In his last 11 matches for Sacramento State dating back to last season, the 2002 Kennedy High School graduate has buried six goals, while adding two assists, an average of 1.27 points per match. He also played all 90 minutes in last Sunday’s match against San Jose State, making the start alongside freshman Zlatan Kuckovic. Kuckovic, an Oakland native, has made four starts for Sacramento State this season, and at 6-foot, is a dangerous option for the Hornets in front of the net, taking 12 shots on the year.