Yamamoto Dials Up Late Equalizer, 1-1

Wednesday, September 23

Sacramento, Calif.

10:00 AM

UC Irvine

2-3-3, 0-0-1

Sacramento State

4-2-3, 0-0-1

Team	1	2	Final F
UC Irvine	0	1	1
Sacramento St.	1	0	1

Elizabeth Hayes fires a shot through traffic in women's soccer's match at Sacramento State

Photo by: John Clingan | UCI Athletics

Yamamoto Dials Up Late Equalizer, 1-1

September 23, 2026 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Alex Roberts-Croteau

SACRAMENTO, Calif. --- UC Irvine women's soccer escaped the Big West opener with a 1-1 draw Wednesday morning at Sacramento State and Hornet Field.

Stinging Sensation

Big West season opened on a tough note for the 'Eaters conceding in the second minute
- UCI played out of the back and lost the ball on the right wing
- The Hornets drove to goal with an entry pass laid off to Ellie Farber who slid a shot into the open left side of the net to go up, 1-0
Both offenses continued to search for the ever-important second goal
- Clara Samson and Elizabeth Hayes were both turned away in the 19th minute
- Fiona Shin had a shot heading to goal that was saved in the 34th minute
- Mimi Dominguez got a last-gasp effort with 15 seconds left in the half cutting back and creating a shot that was tipped high to keep it a 1-0 Sac State lead

Hello Moto

The teams started the second half even on shots, 7-7, with the Hornets scoring on their only shot on goal. They had the advantage elsewhere with three of the four corners and committing five of the six fouls
The Hornets continued the momentum with lots of early shots and corners in the second half
UCI finally got their footing putting a shot on goal in the 62nd minute. Hayes followed that up with a sharp attempt in the 64th minute that was saved on a dive
Savanna Arruda was all over her goal as well saving one on a leap in the 70th minute, the ensuing corner produced a shot off the crossbar and rebound that Arruda tipped high, and another important tip high in the 84th minute
With the match still within reach, the 'Eaters finally found what they were looking for in the 87th minute
- Mimi Dominguez beat her defenders and cut to goal on the left wing shooting from a tough angle with Sac State's save falling to Mimi Yamamoto to put it back on goal and in for the game-tying strike, 1-1

UC Irvine 1, Sacramento State 1

UCI salvages a point in a match they trailed in for 85 minutes
The goal is the team's fifth in the final 15 minutes of the match and fourth that went down as the game-tying or game-winning strike
Yamamoto connects on her first career goal for the sophomore, a week after she collected her first career point
- Dominguez collects her second assist of the year, tied for the team lead, along with four total points
Arruda in net gets credit for two saves
Two Anteatesr made their first career starts including second-year Jasmyne Wheeler and freshman Elizabeth Hayes
Shots were 16-15 in favor of the hosts, but UCI had seven of their shots on target

UCI runs its record to 2-3-3 overall and now one point in Big West play at 0-0-1 as they await the rest of the conference's match later on Wednesday. Next chance for points comes Saturday, September 26 when UC Irvine hosts Cal State Bakersfield at 6:00 p.m.

YAMO!! ?? First career goal ties it in the 87th!!

UC Irvine 1-1 Sac State #TWZ pic.twitter.com/knmQS4Ifcj
— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) September 23, 2026