SACRAMENTO, Calif. – UC Riverside trekked north to the state capital for a Saturday afternoon matinee, falling 2-1 to Sacramento State at Hornet Field.
UC Riverside favored the right side of the pitch on the attack early on where Issa Badawiya set up shop in his ninth start of the year, and the strategy would not take long to pay off.
The Highlanders capitalized on a turnover in the attacking third with Oscar Penate playing it to Issa Badawiya, who netted his third of the year on the first shot of the afternoon for UCR. Badawiya's strike cemented his second straight game finding the back of the net and third straight with a goal involvement, now seeing two goals and an assist in his last three contests.
The goal was also UCR's third this season in the opening 15 minutes of play, joining Brendan Clark and Noah Lopez. Badawiya's goal was the earliest scored by a Highlander this season and earliest since Roberto Garcia-Vargas 4:15 into last year's win over San Francisco. For Penate, the connection was his second goal involvement against the Hornets in as many years after scoring in last year's win in Riverside.
Sacramento State hit the near post soon after before finding the equalizer less than a minute later.
Sacramento native Andrew Nelson saw his second straight appearance and eighth of the season in a return to his hometown, logging 52 minutes.
UC Riverside kept feeding Badawiya, who threaded a ball towards the near post in the 19th minute that tried to reach Lopez. The sophomore was taken off the ball ahead of an unsuccessful corner kick before the duo tried to connect again six minute later with another missed opportunity.
Clark and Luka Lukic each tried their hands at a go-ahead goal in the 30th minute but were denied by the keeper. UCR mustered five shots from five different players in the opening 45 minutes, four of which were on target.
UC Riverside's back line was tested early out of halftime, but did well to force missed opportunities for Sacramento State's attack. Carlos Gonzalez was forced to make an easy save in the middle of his line before seeing a second shot soon after go high and over his right shoulder.
Gonzalez made another crucial stop by the narrowest margins in the 78th minute on the near post to protect the 1-1 draw.
Freymar Omarsson tried to head in a free kick that resulted from a yellow card to Sacramento State, but the attempt just missed the near post as both sides applied continued pressure in pursuit of a breakthrough. The Highlanders saw a glimpse of offensive momentum with 20 minutes remaining in regulation with a corner being headed wide before the hIghlanders played a ball around the edge of the box after a throw in.
Sacramento State found the breakthrough in the 81st minute on the near post after continually applying pressure in the final 15 minutes of the match.
UC Riverside will return to the Inland Empire on Wednesday, October 19 for a key Big West showdown with Cal State Fullerton with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+.
