From left are Sacramento State Women’s Soccer assistant coach Chris Malenab, head coach Randy Dedini and Joey “Uncle” Lum, the director of soccer operations. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Reigning Big Sky Conference Tournament champion, California State University, Sacramento women’s soccer team added six more new faces to its roster for the upcoming fall campaign, gaining four transfers and a pair of standout freshman to the fold, head coach Randy Dedini recently announced.

“We’re thrilled to welcome six new additions to our program coming off of our Big Sky championship season in 2024,” Dedini said. “These talented student-athletes bring skill, drive and passion to our roster and we’re confident that they’ll play key roles in helping us chase another conference title this fall.”

The quartet of transfers is midfielder Lakshmi Vallabhaneni from Sonoma State, a pair of local junior college All-Americans in Hope Martin-Northrup and Tea Reyes from nearby Folsom Lake College, and high-scoring forward Shawna Larson from Peninsula College in Washington. The incoming freshman duo of Sia Bharadwaj (San Ramon, Monte Vista High School) and Elyse McGinnis (Fort Collins, Colorado/Fort Collins High School) round out the group.

Brief bios on the six newcomers are included later in this article.

This group joins the four high school student-athletes who committed to the program in November, bringing the number of newcomers to the program to 10. That collection of new faces are midfielder Bailey Fuller (Loomis/Del Oro High School), defender Ella Hershey (Folsom/Folsom High School), forward Aryana Martinez (Rancho Cucamonga/Rancho Cucamonga High School) and goalkeeper Cynthia Waller (Chicago, Illinois/ Lane Tech High School). 

Sacramento State wrapped up its storybook 2024 season with an appearance in the National Collegiate Athletics Association Tournament against the University of Southern California, falling to the Trojans in the first round. The Hornets finished 5-7-9 overall on the season, setting a new school record for draws in the process, while claiming its third Big Sky Tournament title and the National Collegiate Athletics Association Tournament postseason berth for the third time in the program's history.

At the end of the regular season, five Sacramento State players were named to the All-Big Sky team while six student-athletes were named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team, including gaining the MVP, following the Hornets' run of penalty kick victories over No. 4-seeded Northern Arizona, No. 1 Montana and No. 2 Idaho.

Bharadwaj was a two-year varsity letter winner at Monte Vista High School, helped the Mustangs to a Collegiate Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section title as a senior, finished her final prep season with eight goals and three assists, including a hat trick against Livermore High School. She was a California Interscholastic Federation section Scholar-Athlete in 2022 and 2025, played club soccer for the Bay Area Surf ECNL in San Jose for four years, helping her club to three ECNL NorCal Conference championships. Bharadwaj started a nonprofit organization, Kicks and Goals (kicksandgoals.org), dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in the sport.

Larson was the Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference selection as a sophomore in 2024. Her career goal total of 31 and her 17 career assists both rank fifth on the school’s all-time list and her 79 career points are fourth on the school’s list. Larson led the Northwest Athletic Conference in goals, assists and points as a sophomore. She was a first-team All-Northwest Athletic Conference selection as a freshman in 2023, scoring 18 goals and 44 points. Her 18 goals are the third-most by a freshman in school history.

Martin-Northrup helped Folsom Lake college to its second straight California Community College Athletic Association state title and a Big 8 Conference crown in 2024. She was United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division III National Player of the Year and a first-team All-American who also earned first-team All-West Region honors. Martin-Northrup was the California Community Colleges Athletic Association’s North All-Region and all-state honoree and was named the Big 8 Conference Defender of the Year, in addition to being the state tournament’s most outstanding player. Martin-Northrup was part of a defense that posted 19 shutouts en route to a 23-1-2 overall record and a 9-1-1 mark in Big 8 Conference play. She finished with four goals and eight points, putting five of her seven shots on the year on goal and began her career at San Jose State in 2023, appearing in nine matches

McGinnis was a three-time All-Northern Colorado 5A selection in soccer, including first-team honors twice in 2023 and 2025. She accumulated 27 goals and 14 assists in 42 matches in her prep career and as a senior, finished with 10 goals and four assists for 24 points in 14 matches, including a four-goal performance against Greeley West High School. McGinnis added seven goals and five assists as a sophomore and 10 more goals to go with five helpers as a freshman. She was also a standout member of the Lambkins’ track and field team in the 400m and 800m as well as a pair of relay teams.

Reyes helped Folsom Lake College to a pair of California Community College Athletic Association state titles in 2023 and 2024. She was United Soccer Coaches second-team All-American, second-team All-West Region selection, Big 8 Conference Attacker of the Year, California Community College Athletic Association All-State selection as a sophomore. Reyes finished with 21 goals and nine assists for 51 points, including six game-winners. She was United Soccer Coaches All-American and All-West Region selection as a freshman, scoring nine goals and 11 assists.

Vallabhaneni attended Sonoma State but did not appear in a match for the Seawolves in 2024. She scored five goals and added an assist as a sophomore at Cosumnes River in 2022 while starting all 22 matches for the Hawks. Five goals were tied for third on the team while ranking fourth on the squad with 11 points. She finished with a pair of goals and two assists as a freshman at Cosumnes River College in 2021, starting 20 matches. Vallabhaneni earned a spot on the Big 8 Conference All-Tournament Team twice and earned all-conference honors as a sophomore.