Ellie Farber is a sophomore from Redding with two goals this season. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Sophomore Ellie Farber scored for the second time in as many matches, connecting on the game-tying goal with less than two minutes remaining on Thursday afternoon to help the Sacramento State women’s soccer team to a 1-1 draw with UC Santa Barbara at Hornet Soccer Field.

With results in each of their last two contests, the Hornets moved to 1-1-1 overall on the year, while the Gauchos remained winless at 0-1-1 overall. Sacramento State’s start is the best for a non-pandemic season since the 2019 squad opened with the same record, while the Hornets began the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 season with a 1-0-4 record.

Having conceded the first goal of the match in the 41st minute on Chayse Yu’s first of the year, Sacramento State kept pushing for the equalizer, eventually winning a throw deep in UC Santa Barbara’s defensive third. Junior Madelyn Dougherty found Ariana Scholten deep near the end line, who found just enough room to turn away from her defender and send a cross into the box.

That’s where senior Alejandra Melendez was waiting just at the left edge of the six, flicking the ball toward the back post where Farber was making her run. The sophomore didn’t miss from there, chipping a shot over the scrambling UCSB goalkeeper and into the net to draw the Hornets even with 1:39 to play.

Farber had another attempt — this time for the game-winner — in the closing seconds of regulation, but her shot sailed high over the bar as the horn sounded on the draw.

The score was Farber’s second career goal after she opened the scoring against Houston Christian last week in a 3-1 win. The assist for Scholten was the second of her Hornet career while Melendez tallied her first career point in a Sacramento State jersey.

UC Santa Barbara held a slim 16-13 advantage in shots, but the two squads could only combine for seven shots on goal. Farber led all players with six shot attempts on the day, while sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Palmatier stopped three attempts at the other end of the field.

A run of matches against Big West Conference opponents continues next week as the Hornets host Cal Poly on Thursday (Aug. 29) at 1 p.m. in their only match of the week.