Sept. 20, 2015
San Jose, Calif. --- Sophomore forward Dorthe Hoppius has been on the cusp of a breakout performance all season long. The team's leading shot taker heading into this week hadn't found the back of the net, until Sunday, when she exploded for San Jose State's first hat trick since 2010.
Hoppius' third goal of the day put the Spartans ahead of CSUN, 3-2, in the 64th minute, but consecutive Matadors goals, less than five minutes apart, handed SJSU a 4-3 loss in the nonconference finale at Spartan Soccer Field.
San Jose State (2-4-2) took a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to Hoppius and some on-point assists by midfielder Darlene Rodriguez.
A short touch-pass from Rodriguez near the top of the box assisted the first goal, and a firm arching cross from the right side, went off of Hoppius' head and into the goal, helping SJSU to the 2-0 lead.
"The second ball from Darlene was just awesome," Hoppius said. "We had lots of good support from everyone today and together with the goals makes me confident for the conference season."
Carley McBeath tallied her third assist of the season with a throw-in from the left sideline that went to Hoppius for her third goal.
It was the 10th hat trick in Spartan women's soccer history and the first since Kayla Santacruz scored three goals in a 4-1 win over Utah State on October 24, 2010.
"The positive from this match, is we scored three goals," said Spartans' head coach Lauren Hanson. "We needed to be more dynamic on offense and take some more risks, and we did that today. But their game is to counter attack and press. We just needed to stay linked to prevent those counter attacks."
Cynthia Sanchez for CSUN (7-3-0) was the thorn in the side of San Jose State throughout the second half.
She assisted the Matadors' first goal in the 53rd minute, and went on to score the tying and game-winning goals.
CSUN made it 2-2 after a penalty was called inside the box and Kendall Moskal punched in the PK. Then Sanchez answered Hoppius with her first goal in the 75th minute to tie the match, 3-3, before netting the game-winner in the 80th minute.
"The end result may not show it, but we are really coming together," Hanson added. "We had a lot of players come off the bench and make an impact. To have that group give us a lift like that is a very good sign."
Sabrina Miller, Camila Villarino and Courtney Elterman all appeared off the bench and registered a shot in the game. Elterman's resulted in a shot-on-goal and one of two saves for CSUN keeper Cynthia Tafoya.
Paige Simoneau made four saves in her second start of the year in goal for SJSU.
The Spartans begin Mountain West play next week on the road at Wyoming. The match is set for Friday, September 25, at 4:00 p.m. MT, and will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
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