Ernesto Carranza tallied six points on two goals and two assists against Air Force.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento State men's soccer team picked a perfect time to have it's best scoring performance of the season, with a 6-2 victory over Air Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation on Thursday afternoon.
The Hornets improve to 8-4-7 on the season with the victory while Air Force fell to 7-12-0 with the loss. The six goals matched the Hornets' output combined in all 10 conference games this season.
Chris Bettencourt and Ernesto Carranza each scored two goals for head coach Michael Linenberger's squad and Gabriel Silveira and Adam Bettencourt each added a goal as well.
Carranza tied for No. 2 all-time with six points in the game on two goals and two assists.
The No. 5 seed Hornets wasted little time in getting on the board against the No. 4 seed Falcons, with Chris Bettencourt scoring his first goal in the ninth minute, after a Carranza pass led him into a breakaway and Bettencourt chipped the ball around the keeper and scored on an open net.
Air Force evened it up 1-1 in the 14th minute when John Melcher slipped a low shot through the gloves of Hornet keeper Cesar Castillo.
In the 18th minute Carranza tallied his first score of the game when he collected a Silveira pass and launched a shot across the net to the far post.
Air Force tied it up again at 2-2 when Zane Dydasco scored a beautiful goal after he bent a corner kick just inside the far post.
But the Hornets were far from done, as Carranza scored again in the 32nd minute to give the Hornets a 3-2 lead at halftime.
After the break, Silveira fired a fantastic shot from 20 yards out that tucked just inside the top corner at the far post to put Sacramento State up 4-2. Fernando Cabadas collected the assist on the game, which gave him the school record with 18 career assists.
In the 52nd minute, Chris Bettencourt scored his second goal when Carranza chipped a pass into the box and the junior from Hilmar headed it back across the goal at the far post.
Adam Bettencourt tallied the Hornets' final score of the game in the 85th minute when he took a long crossing pass from Erick Lariz and finished one-on-one with the keeper.
The Hornets outshot the Falcons 15-9 in the game, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Hornets also had the edge in corner kicks, 8-3. Both teams both made only one save each.
Sacramento State will battle No. 1 seed Denver on Friday at 2 p.m. in the semifinals of the tournament. No. 3 seed New Mexico, after knocking off No. 6 seed UNLV 1-0 in overtime in the early game on Thursday, will play No. 2 seed Cal State Bakersfield at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Chris Bettencourt had two goals in the Hornets' 6-2 victory over Air Force on Thursday.
