An 18-match regular season schedule for 2025 was released by California State University, Sacramento head men’s soccer coach Michael Linenberger on June 12. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – California State University, Sacramento head men’s soccer coach Michael Linenberger announced June 12 an 18-match regular season schedule for 2025, a slate that includes a trio of National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament qualifiers and six opponents that finished inside the final top 100 in the end-of-season Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings.

Among the three National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament qualifiers on this year’s schedule are two Big West Conference rivals as the Hornets open this year’s campaign with a road match at Stanford on Aug. 21 and has road league contests at University of California, Santa Barbara on Oct. 22 and University of California, Davis on Nov. 1.

The Stanford Cardinals were a No. 16 national seed in last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament reaching the third round and finishing No. 13 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll. Following a first-round bye, Stanford eliminated the University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos on penalties, 6-5, following a 2-2 draw and then fell to Ohio State, 4-3, on penalties after a scoreless draw through 110 minutes.

UC Santa Barbara opened with a 1-0 victory over University of California, Los Angeles before its draw with Stanford and finished among those receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Meanwhile, the Aggies made the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament for the fourth time in school history after defeating the Gauchos 2-0 in the Big West championship match, falling to San Diego, 1-0 in first round

Stanford leads the group among the top 100 in the Rating Percentage Index, finishing the 2024 season No. 12 in the nation followed by UC Santa Barbara (No. 28), UC Davis (No. 54), San Francisco (No. 70), UC Irvine (No. 72) and Cal State Fullerton (No. 90). In addition, six more were among the top 150 in Cal State Bakersfield (No. 102), Cal Poly (No. 107), Utah Valley (No. 111), Pacific (No. 130), UC Riverside (No. 145), and San Jose State (No. 149).

For comparison, California State University, Sacramento ended the year ranked No. 139 in the final Rating Percentage Index rankings.

The Hornets open the year with an exhibition noon Aug. 10 in Berkeley before officially kicking off the campaign with the season opener against the Cardinals. Utah Tech will be the first home opponent for California State University, Sacramento at 1 p.m. Aug. 24, as the Hornets look to build off a 2024 season that saw them finish 4-2-1 on their home field.

Alternating home and away matches follow over the next two weeks as California State University, Sacramento travels to Grand Canyon (Aug. 28), hosts Santa Clara in a double header with the women’s team on Aug. 31, travels to Utah Valley (Sept. 4) and comes home to host San Jose State in another double header on Sept. 7.

Back-to-back matches against West Coast Conference rivals follow with road contests at Pacific (Sept. 11) and San Francisco (Sept. 15) before the Hornets host Saint Mary’s on Sept. 19 to close out non-conference play and kick off a season-long three-match homestand.

Big West play opens at home against California State University, Bakersfield (Oct. 1) and California State University, Fullerton (Oct. 4) as California State University, Sacramento hosts five of its nine league contests in 2025. Remaining home conference matches include Cal Poly (Oct. 15), UC Irvine (Oct. 18), and UC San Diego (Oct. 25), while the Hornets will take to the road to face CSUN (Oct. 8), UC Riverside (Oct. 11), UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 22) and UC Davis (Nov. 1).

This year’s Big West Tournament kicks off at campus sites with the quarterfinals on Nov. 5 and the semifinals on Nov. 8, with the championship held on Nov. 15. The National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament play begins with first-round matches on Nov. 20. 

The Aug. 10 exhibition match is at California Berkley and starts at noon. The Hornets play on Aug. 21 at Stanford, starting at 7 p.m.

On Aug. 24 the Hornets face Utah Tech at 1 p.m.

On Aug. 28 the hornets travel to play Grand Canyon at 7 p.m.

The Hornets play Santa Clara (DH) on Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.

On Sept. 4 the Hornets play at Utah Valley, starting at 7 p.m.

On Sept. 7 it’s the Hornets versus San Jose State (DH) at 3 p.m.

On Sept. 11 at Pacific, the Hornets play at 7 p.m.

The Hornets play on Sept. 15 at San Francisco and the game starts at 7 p.m.

The Hornets play Saint Mary’s on Sept. 19 at 4 p.m.

On Oct. 1 the Hornets play Cal State Bakersfield* at 4 p.m.

On Oct. 4 the Hornets go up against Cal State Fullerton* at 4 p.m.

The Hornets play CSUN* on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.

The Hornets play at UC Riverside* on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

The Hornets play on Oct. 15 against Cal Poly* at 3 p.m.

The Hornets will play UC Irvine* at 3 p.m. on Oct. 18.

The Hornets play UC Santa Barbara* at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22. On Oct. 25, it’s the Hornets versus UC San Diego*at 3 p.m.

The Hornets will go against UC Davis* at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1.

The Big West Conference Quarterfinals will take place on Nov. 5 at campus sites to be determined by season results.

The Big West Conference Semifinals take place on Nov. 8 with campus sites still to be determined.

The Big West Conference Finals on Nov. 15 will take place at a site to be determined and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament takes place from Nov. 20 - Dec. 15.

An * denotes a Big West Conference match. Home matches are in bold and are played on campus at Hornet Soccer Field. Dates and times are subject to change. Visit HornetSports.com for the latest information.